My Shadows Found
by EchoKazul
Summary: Ten years ago, Leonardo died. But then his brothers found a young human boy with blue eyes wandering New York, looking for the red, purple, and orange shadows that haunted his dreams. Now reunited, this is a collection of little drabbles following the four brothers as they learn to deal with the fact that their big brother is not only back, but now a human child
1. New Beginnings

_**Author Note:**_

While this can be read on its own, this is a continuation of my story, 'In Search of Shadows'. If you haven't read that, basically all you need to know in this story is that Leo died ten years ago, and somehow managed to get himself reincarnated almost immediately as a human boy named Peter Eastman who had a troubled (but not physically abusive) childhood, and ran away from foster care to find the three shadows of Red, Purple, and Orange that he always dreamed about. Now found and finally back home with his brothers, he's slowly getting his memories back, and is determined to protect his family and lead them again one day. He is still Leo deep down, but at the same time, he's also just a kid now, and sometimes those two sides of him clash. His brothers are now understandably very protective of him, and April has become his sensei as he relearns how to ninja. Oh, and he adopted a cat that he named Fearless.

So basically 'In Search of Shadows' drew a lot more attention then I thought it would, and there were many requests for a continuation. While I don't think I'll write a sequel for it, I do have ideas for a few drabbles and short scenes with Leo and his brothers, and thus I decided to leave the story itself finished as it is, and leave these here as optional filler. It's kind of like how after a movie, sometimes they'll show photographs or little scenes showing what the characters get up to afterwards. Nothing that'll advance the plot any further, but fun little scenes that are amusing to read. You don't have to consider them 'canon', just possible things that could have happened.

Readers who followed 'In Search of Shadows' will recognize this first chapter as the original epilogue. Since I'm writing more drabbles, I decided to end the story where Leo finally finds his brothers, and continue their 'Happily Ever After' here. It seemed like a better launching point then anything else.

* * *

 **Chapter 1: A New Beginning**

* * *

Warmth...

Darkness...

Three warm auras surrounding me...

My three Shadows...

I slowly and contentedly blinked open my eyes, slipping out of the foggy tendrils of sleep, and there they were.

Raph, Donnie, and Mikey.

I sleepily smiled at them, then blinked a few times before turning to look at the clock on my bedside table. Quarter to five. Perfect. I didn't want to miss one minute of the morning with my family.

It had been almost a year since I had found my Shadows and my home. During the first week after I came home to stay, I was pretty sure that I hadn't touched the floor at all, constantly carried around by one giant turtle brother or another. My brothers had almost seemed almost terrified that if they let me go, I'd disappear again. But things were starting to calm down, I was able to move from room to room under my own power once more, and this was actually the first time in a few months that my bedroom had turned into a whole Hamato Clan cuddle puddle. But then again, it made sense that everybody would be feeling a little extra clingy considering what today was. I grimaced a little at the thought, but quickly pushed it away. I needed to concentrate on my morning tasks first.

I gave a silent yawn, rubbed my face, and slowly, carefully pushed myself up from where I lay on Mikey's shell. One would think that a turtle's shell wouldn't make the most comfortable surface to sleep upon, but I never slept better in my life then when draped across one of my brother's carapaces.

I quietly slid down the side of his shell out from under the thick, warm blue Space Heroes blanket, landing on the heated floor lightly on bare feet, and turned to pull the blanket back up over my sleeping Orange brother so he wouldn't get cold.

Raph was next. He was seated on the floor at the foot of my bed, propped up against the wall and tipped over so that his face was smooshed against the wooden paneling of the bedframe that they had made for me, his mouth dropped open in silent snores. I carefully took the blanket that had ended up bunched over one of his knees and, standing on my tiptoes, pulled it over his giant sleeping form, wrapping it around him.

Donnie and April were off snuggled together on the floor nearby, laying on a futon they had dragged in. Donnie's chin rested on top of the red haired woman's head, and both looked content as they cuddled. I made sure they were both covered and warm, then reached over to grab a spare blanket off the top of the dresser as I padded out my bedroom door, draping it over Casey as he lay sprawled across the doorway in his boxers, hugging and drooling all over a bundled up sweatshirt he was using as a pillow.

Grabbing my clothes and a clean towel, I headed over to the bathroom and began my morning routine. I pondered the baffling abundance of plastic bottles and different hair products for a household where only three of the inhabitants actually had hair as I showered in the gigantic shower that was almost a room in of itself. If there's one thing that turtles knew, it was how luxurious water could be. Then, after stepping out onto the thick bath mat and toweling off with the fluffy blue towels purchased just for me, I climbed upon the step stool that Raph and Casey had put together, and began to brush my teeth, studying myself in the well-lit mirror.

Donnie had said that my father was Japanese, so now I knew for certain where my asian ethnicity and thick black hair came from. My mother had had blue eyes, and I always thought that I had inherited them from her, but now that I knew who I had been in my past life, and seeing pictures of my old turtle self, I found myself wondering. One wouldn't think that one could inherit eye color from a past life, but eh, there were a lot of things about my situation that didn't make sense.

I was eleven now, and with Donnie obsessing over my nutrition intake, Raph insisting on my exercise regiment, and skateboarding, roughhousing, and other strenuous forms of play with Mikey, I had actually grown quite a bit, actually gaining entire inches in height, and not nearly as scrawny as I had been. Admittably I was still a little on the small size for my age, but it was amazing what switching to a diet not entirely consisting of peanut butter sandwiches, ramen, and oatmeal could do for the growing human body.

I leaned over to spit into the sink, then studied it, comparing its height to my own. Hm. All I needed was an inch or two, and I wouldn't need something to stand on a stool anymore. I couldn't wait. Being short was annoying.

Then I pulled on my clothes, ran the comb through my hair a few times, and when I was fully dressed, cleaned, and ready for the day, I exited the bathroom. I promptly had to catch myself as I almost tripped over a large furry black cat laying across the bathroom doorframe.

Fearless's fluffy tail thumped against the floor and his blue eyes turned to look upon me balefully.

"Okay, you get points for stealth and technique. Good ninja tactics." I narrowed my eyes at my cat, arms crossed. "But your long term planning is severely flawed, cat. How am I supposed to feed you if I'm unconscious on the floor?"

Fearless rolled over and sat up, moving over to bump his side against my legs, almost up to my knee as he wove around me while meowing loudly. He had grown quite a bit from the tiny motherless kitten that I had helped feed, to the point that we theorized that he must have had some Maine Coon or some other larger breed in him. He was HUGE!

Rolling my eyes, I made my way to the kitchen as best as I could with a cat trying to walk between my legs, and carefully filled the blue plastic food dish sitting on the floor with kibble. He dove in greedily, crunching the little food bits happily.

That problem taken care of, I headed over to the dojo, my hair still damp and sticking up in every direction. I was bound and determined to take the leadership mantle upon my shoulders once more in this new life, and while I obviously couldn't completely fulfill all of the responsibilities until I was older again, there were still some duties I could tend to. Such as carefully and dutifully lighting the candles and setting forth offerings and prayers at to the three shrines set against the far wall. One shrine to the great Hamato Yoshi, one to the beautiful Tang Shen, and one to a sword wielding turtle in a blue bandana. A new life honoring the old.

The ancestors honored, I moved over and sat in a neat sieza pose under the well cared for tree in the dojo, relaxed and eyes closed as I regulated my breathing and fell into myself, content to meditate as I waited for my family to awaken.

It was close to six when I finally began to hear the lair stir to life, my family members waking up and moving around to start the day. I struggled not to let the grin that wanted to crack my serene face show as I felt an orange aura slip into the room, creeping up to me as I sat there calmly with my eyes closed. It slid along the edge of the room silently, before it crept up into the branches of the tree I sat under, sneaking out onto one of the branches overhead.

I mentally counted down.

Three...

Two...

One.

And then suddenly I was caught up in a pounce and wrapped in strong, warm arms.

"Leo! Dude!" Mikey snuggled me for a moment happily, then held me out at arms length. "What are you doing in here?"

"I'm trying to meditate, Mikey." I rested my arms on his wrists casually.

"How can you even think about meditating on today of all days, bro?!" Mikey looked at me in disbelief. "Aren't you excited?! It's your first day of school!"

I sighed, not entirely thrilled now that he had reminded me. "I still don't see why going out and attending public school is necessary. Donnie and April are more then qualified to provide my education."

"Are you kidding?! School lunches and gym class and dances and prom and sports teams... Dude!" Mikey looked positively awed by the potential.

He was so excited that, as nervous as I was feeling deep down, I couldn't help but shake my head and chuckle. I reminded myself I was doing this for my brothers, as much as I'd rather spend the rest of my life down here in the lair with my family, only surfacing at night to play in the shadows. This was an experience denied to them, and, through me, they could experience it as well. That, and they all seemed convinced that it wasn't healthy for a human child to spend my whole existence down in the sewers and that maybe I should interact with other humans socially for some reason.

"Oh... but first..." Mikey put me down and reached up to peel a fluffy black furball off of his shell, bringing it around to hold it in my face. "Fearless has been telling me quite insistently that he hasn't been fed yet."

The blue eyed black cat meowed loudly at me in agreement, dangling unconcerned in Mikey's hands.

I sighed and took him in my own arms, though he was proportionally much larger against my small form then my giant turtle brother's. I swear, that cat was a bottomless pit. "Fearless, it is not an honorable thing to be spreading such falsehoods. Shame on you."

Fearless just meowed in my face, giving me a strong whiff of cat food breath, before he fondly smashed his forehead against my nose, purring loudly. I set him down, rubbing his ears as he wound his way around my legs.

"Wait." Mikey apparently just had gotten a good look at me, and suddenly grabbed my head, turning me around so he look me over in proper horror. "Leo, what are you wearing?!"

"Clothes, Mikey." I said patiently, enduring the inspection. "It's something that humans mandatorily have to wear."

"No! I mean, what happened to the rad outfit I got you?!" Mikey protested, picking at my blue tshirt and black jeans. "It's your first day of school, you need to establish your coolness factor right away!"

"Mikey..." I gave him a look. "It had nine belts. I'm not going to wear anything that requires nine belts!"

Mikey scoffed, plopping down behind me cross-legged. "It looks awesome and you know it!" He reached over and applied a generous glop of hair gel on top of my head, before pulling out a comb to start working my thick black hair into some sort of spiky styling. "And chicks go crazy for the leather! You could definitely pull off the 'cool, brooding protagonist' look."

"You really need to lay off the JRPG's and anime." I grumbled, shifting my weight as I tolerated his attention patiently. "The protagonists are not meant to be an actual guide to real life fashion."

"I thought you liked Japanese culture, Leo!" Mikey barely noticed as Fearless jumped up on his shell once more and settled down contentedly to watch him style my hair.

"I do! Traditional Japanese culture. Trust me, if I could get away with wearing a hakama, I would." I said dryly. "But tshirts and jeans will do the job just as well."

Raph appeared and leaned in through the doorframe. "Yo, Mikey. April said to tell ya that if we're going to get breakfast in Leo before he heads off, you're going to have to get moving here."

"Raph!" Mikey put away his comb and grabbed me, holding me up for display. "How do you rate the coolness factor of Leo's current clothing?"

Raph paused, then blinked uncertainly. "Um... they're nice? I guess? Th' shirt is blue?"

"It's boring, right?!" Mikey insisted. "I got him a really cool outfit, with a leather vest and shoes that light up and everything!"

"Light up shoes are not stealthy. Plus it includes nine belts." I protested, dangling from Mikey's grasp. "I can only imagine the logistics of trying to use the bathroom."

"I dunno." Raph shrugged. "Sounds like you'd have some pretty good places to hid some weaponry."

I blinked, then tapped my chin thoughtfully as I pondered this. "Huh. Didn't think of that."

Donnie had been walking up to join us at that moment, and he skidded to a halt, looking up from the small watch he was tinkering with with a withering scowl at the suggestion. "No! No hidden ninja weapons at school! I can't believe I even have to tell you that!" He stomped in and plucked me from Mikey's grasp, holding me under one arm while glaring accusingly at the other two. "We're supposed to be responsible adults here!"

"We are being responsible!" Mikey insisted, standing up carefully as to not knock off the cat draped across his shell. "Responsibly cool!"

"I wasn't saying he should smuggle in a kantana, obviously. Only a few shuriken or kunai or something." Raph waved off his concern. "It's not like I was telling him to run with scissors or anything stupid."

"No. You were just suggesting that Leo smuggle KNIVES into his fifth grade class!" Donnie rolled his eyes. He set me on the ground and pointed at our brothers. "Mikey. Go start breakfast please. Raph, why don't you go help Casey? He's giving the Shellraiser one last check over before April drives Leo to school later."

"Can do." Raph waved a hand, grabbing Mikey by the shell. "See you guys at the breakfast table."

"Leo, just consider the cool outfit, okay?" Mikey called out over his shoulder as he was dragged off towards the kitchen, a large cat happily draped across his shell.

"And watch the cat hair!" Donnie called out after him. "I'm tired of picking black fur out of my eggs!" He grumbled a few more things under his breath, then knelt down next to me, pulling out what looked like a small, ordinary digital kid's watch. "Here, Leo, I made this for you. Try this on for size."

"Thank you, Donnie." I did so, and adjusted it so it fit snugly on my wrist. "I'm assuming since you're giving it to me, it's not just an ordinary watch to tell me the time?"

"Well, actually, it will tell you the time, if you want it to." Donnie grinned that goofy, proud, excited grin he always got when revealing a new gadget. "But, yes, this is no ordinary watch. It's basically a simplified, miniaturized tPhone. With this, we can keep in touch, and you can contact us if needed." He took my small wrist in his large green three-fingered hand carefully, checking the watch's fit, before he began pointing out the buttons and their functions to me. "It can also stream video, as requested, though the diminished battery capacity means that you can probably only get four hours of footage. I'll work on trying to expand it, but I also don't want to cover you in suspicious hidden wires. Your safety and education comes first, our curiosity is only a distant second."

I nodded, examining the watch closely. It was nice to know that as long as I had this in my possession, my brothers would be able to find me, no matter what happened. "Mikey has asked me to record some during recess, lunch, and study hall, while Raph was interested in phy-ed and any sports I might take part in. Do you have any requests, Donnie?"

Donnie paused, then looked away, rubbing his head almost shyly. "If... if you don't mind... I'd like to see the math and science classes."

"Really?" I looked up from the watch. "You know that you're far beyond anything they would teach in 5th grade, right?"

He noticed my hair, traced it lightly, and frowned. He pulled a comb out of a compartment on his utility belt, and began working out the spikes that Mikey had put in. "Yeah, I know. I just think it would be neat to see what teaching methods and aides they use."

"Well, I'd be glad to let you listen in on that, if it'll make you happy, Donnie." I made sure to hold still as he combed my hair down and then neatly parted it, his tongue sticking out slightly as he concentrated.

"Thank you Leo." He squinted at he studied my hair critically for a second, and then, obviously satisfied with both the watch and my hair, he stood up, offering me a hand. "Now, let me show you how to set this thing..."

* * *

The smell of eggs and bacon let us know that breakfast was well on the way, and Donnie wrapped up his tutorial, before he hoisted me up to perch easily on his shelled shoulder, my socked feet dangling against his plastron as he carried me towards the kitchen.

Raph, Casey, and April-Sensei were already sitting at the table when we walked in.

"Here you go, Leo!" Mikey cheerfully snapped his wrist and skillfully slid a plate with two eggs, hashbrowns, and a couple slices of bacon arranged into a smiley face in front of my usual spot. "Made with love, and fresh off the skillet!"

"Thanks, Mikey." I slid off of Donnie's shell and scrambled up onto my stool next to Raph, who was already eating. "Itadakimasu!"

"Itadakimasu." Donnie repeated the traditional Japanese phrase typically given before eating as he took his own plate from Mikey before it could be frisbee'd across the table as well, inspecting it closely for cat hairs as he moved around to take his own place at the table by April.

Casey poured me a glass of orange juice. "So, nervous about starting school, Leo?"

"In my old life, I traveled through space, time, and alternate dimensions, dealing with aliens, demons, and demigods." I scoffed, picking up some chopsticks. "I think I can handle the fifth grade."

And that was true. As my brothers regaled me with tales of my previous life, I felt as if I could almost remember living those adventures. A normal human experience such as school paled in comparison. This should be simple.

Plus... Donnie assured me that the hacks he had done on my background were airtight, and the legal papers he drafted for me were as good as if they were authentic. As far as anybody was concerned, I was legally named Hamato Leonardo, and Hamato April was my older sister and legal guardian. There was absolutely no way that anybody was going to recognize the unwanted child named Peter Eastman and take me away while I was separated from my family to stick me in foster care again on the other side of the country. No, there was absolutely nothing to worry about, nothing at all.

"Listen, Leo. Anybody give you trouble, anybody at all, and you take down their name for me, ya hear." Raph grunted, grabbing a piece of bacon up with his chopsticks and popping it into his mouth. "I'll be keeping a list."

"Raph... No... You're not going to make a hit list." I sighed, fingering the bridge of my nose as I figured I should nip this in the bud. "These are school kids we're talking about."

"Doesn't hafta be kids." Raph chewed, shrugging. "Applies to the teachers and staff as well. Nobody messes with you."

"Raph..." I narrowed my eyes at him.

"I'm not gonna beat 'em up or anything!" he said defensively, wiping his hands on a napkin. He turned to fish a comb out of his belt. "Won't stop me from shoving an angry racoon in their bedroom or something, though." he said as he began combing my hair, slicking it back and fluffing it up a little.

"I'll help!" Casey said proudly.

"Of course you will." I sighed, patiently waiting for Raph to finish styling my hair back into some sort of 'bad boy' style, with the top combed back and the sides combed down.

After everybody was done eating, we all gathered in the living room, which was covered in waiting school supplies. As with all things in this family, this was apparently a seriously important task that required discussion and input from the entire Hamato committee. Mikey pulled out my Captain Ryan backpack and what followed was an intense debate by everybody in the room on what supplies to pack in it, how to most efficiently pack them in, and, as a ninja, what sort of weaponry was permissible for me to sneak along. Unfortunately, April-Sensei reminded us, with Donnie backing her up, all that a true ninja was never unarmed, that his body was a living weapon, and I was NOT going to get kicked out of school for getting caught with hidden blades, so we were just going to have to be content with that.

What was finally agreed on and eventually packed away for me was a three ring binder and notebooks that Mikey had already pre-doodled for me, an extremely complicated looking calculator, as well as index cards and flashcards with notes that Donnie thought I might find useful, some gym clothes featuring hockey sticks from Casey, and, finally, art supplies that included a solidly heavy protractor, a slender and suspiciously pointy metal drawing compass, large pack of surprisingly solid pens that would take a lot of force to break, and pencils with a high-quality pencil sharpener that could work them into extremely fine and sharp points, all of which Raph gave me with a knowing wink. April gave him a dirty look, but didn't say anything.

After all the supplies were agreed upon, shoved in the bag by Casey and Mikey, taken out and packed up methodically and neatly by a grumbling Donnie, Mikey finally pulled out his camera and insisted on taking several pictures for his scrapbook project. I tolerated pictures being taken of me standing by the entrance in various poses, photos of me with April-sensei, me holding a purring Fearless, Casey, Raph, and I posing with sports gear, and a lot of group photos of my brothers and I. The last one was of all three of my brothers crushing me in a hug, and, for all the eye rolling and heavy but patient sighs I gave out during this, I privately made a note to get a copy of that one later. I liked it.

Then there were more hugs, pep talks, a lot of advice was given, both good and questionable, my hairstyle was changed several more times, snacks were shoved into my bag for later, cat hair brushed off with a sticky roller, and then, finally, it was time to go. Out in the garage, April and I buckled up in the Shellraiser, and I waved one final farewell to my brothers, feeling a lump in my throat, but doing my best not to show it for their sake. Raph nodded his farewell, standing there stiffly with his arms crossed, his eyes blinking more then usual while he was trying to act aloof and cool. Donnie wasn't nearly as shy, dabbing at his eyes with a tissue as he waved, while Mikey was waving so enthusiastically with both arms that Casey had to dodge to safety. And then we were off, driving through the sewers before exiting the secret ramp onto the street.

Driving away, back onto the surface world among humans. Away from my home that I had searched so desperately for so long.

April glanced at me inquiringly from the driver's seat.

I flashed her a reassuring smile. "Thanks for giving me a ride, Sensei." Then I added almost casually, "But, you know, I could probably drive myself. I know how, after all."

She gave me a look, playing along. "You're about five years away from your driver's license, as far as I remember."

"When did that stop me in my previous life?" I protested innocently. "Besides, you have to admit, I'm probably a better driver then most adults out on the roads."

She laughed. "Okay. Point conceded, Leo." She glanced over and winked at me. "Let's wait until you can actually reach the pedals first, though. Deal?"

I chuckled and nodded, and when she turned her attention fully back to the road, I hugged my backpack tightly to me, resting my chin on top.

As agreed, April pulled off to the side several blocks away from school. I didn't want to draw any more attention to myself then necessary, and pulling up in an armored vehicle was bound to turn a few heads. Donnie said he was working a little more conspicuous vehicle for later, which I felt was needed, school trips or not. Maybe I could convince him to come up with some extensions so I could reach the pedals? Perhaps if I pitched it as a cautionary feature in case of emergencies...

"Alright." I breathed out deeply. "Guess I should get going, I guess. Thanks, Sensei, and I'll see you here after school gets out?"

I reached for the door handle, but before I got out, April stopped me.

"Wait, Leo. First, a little gift from your sensei." April turned and dug into her deep coat pocket, before pulling a small bundle of blue cloth, holding it out to me.

Curious, I took it, unwrapped the blue silk handkerchief, and then blinked at the beautiful polished wooden pendant about the size of a half dollar strung on a leather cord. It was beautifully carved with the symbol of the Hamato clan, and off the bottom hung a tassel composed of blue, red, purple, and orange threads. I swallowed hard.

"Remember, Leo..." she said, reaching over to carefully brush my thick black hair back into its more natural style, before letting her hand fall down to cradle my cheek. "Whenever you feel like you're alone, look at that, and remember that you have a home, and that you are loved."

I glanced up at her, a little startled. I had thought that I had hide my nervousness well, even convincing myself that this was no big deal. But, go figure, she seemed to understand that, for all my memories and experiences of my past life, I was also currently an eleven year child who had been cruelly abandoned several times by those who should have loved me.

I blinked a few times, then couldn't help but give a wry chuckle and shook my head in disbelief at her incredible insight. I carefully pulled the leather cord over my head, letting the pendant rest safely under my shirt. I gave her a sincerely grateful look. "Thank you."

She nodded in understanding, her green eyes shining, and she leaned in and gave me a peck on the cheek. "Now, go out and get them, our little blue lion."

I took a deep breath and nodded, and turned to open the door, waving to her as I stepped out and shouldered my backpack.

Huh. Up above me on the rooftops, I could sense three familiar auras waiting.

They had followed me all the way out here?

I grinned, and touched the pendant under my shirt.

Of course they had. They always would.

With no fear, I began walking down the sidewalk. From the rooftops, my brothers quickly began to tail me, and together we moved towards whatever the future held for us.

Together, we could face anything.

* * *

 **Author Notes:**

Because I deleted the chapter in the old story to move it here, it deleted the reviews that was on it as well. As I live for reviews, I copied them and will post them here so they're not lost.

fireworksinthenight chapter 9 . Jun 10  
It's nice to see what Leo's life is like now. I'm glad they kept Leo's shrine.  
Thanks for taking the time to post and update this story so quickly! I've been rubbing my hands with glee each time a new chapter popped up in my mailbox.  
I sure hope you will add bonus scenes!

Shiego627 chapter 9 . Jun 10  
Can I have a request, can we have Leo knowing about Karai XD

JoyoftheStorm chapter 9 . Jun 10  
Well, it's been an AWESOME ride, and I'm SO happy that I got to take it with you and with a little humie Leo. ;) If you ever DO post a sequel, I'll make sure that I will read it just as religiously as I did this one! Your an AMAZING author, and come up with these completely, insanely, awesome fanfics that you can't help but be drawn into with the very title.

I LOVE that Leo finally has his happily ever after, and that he finally found his true family. :D Along with Fearless the Ninja Cat! X3 And of course, brothers being brothers, they did have to find SOMETHING to tease Leo about! Making a chart of girls is a sure fire way to do that! XD  
I can totally see Leo pulling something like this on his very first day, and then being the most terrifying kid at school. X3

~Loving every chapter,  
Hawkfeather

Techno Dawn chapter 9 . Jun 10  
This was a really sweet ending. Nicely done. I really enjoyed your author's note too. You really had this whole little world fleshed out.

GuestBeMe chapter 9 . Jun 11  
THIS IS MY FAVOURITE STORY I'VE DECIDED! I started getting all emotional towards the end, I just love the way things worked out! Each of the characters were perfect, I just love how protective they are of each other! I have enjoyed every word of this story, honestly seeing that you'd updated it would brighten up my day! I'm begging you, please, please, please create a sequel, this story is too good! Also, are you planning on creating any other Leo stories soon because if so I'm guaranteed to be spamming you with reviews from now on! Your writing is beautiful, I love your stories so I hope you keep making them! Just please, please create another masterpiece (and a sequel to this masterpiece ;)) Thankyou so much for updating this and giving me something to look forwards to! xx

DemonDance chapter 9 . Jun 13  
Omg all the brothers styling Leo's hair was perfect! So funny, and cute cause none of them have hair so they're probably living vicariously through Leo right now

XiaoR18 chapter 9 . Jun 13  
ME ENCANTA me dio risa lo de los mapaches y lo que dijo abril en la moto XD


	2. Recess

**Author Notes:** So when I originally posted this, I just summarized Leo's first day at school as a joke. Since I'm drabbling, I thought I'd actually write it out. This is also the first chapter where it's entirely from Leo's brother's point of view.

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Recess**

* * *

"Hm. I'd say things are going fairly well so far. He looks okay, anyways." Raph observed, cracking open another beer and leaning back in his reinforced and oversized lawn chair, his shell causing the material to creak.

They were all sitting on a rooftop of the tallest apartment building in the area just a few blocks away from Leo's new school as they spied in on his first day. Thankfully, the roof didn't seem to see a lot of use from the tenants down below, so they were able to camp out comfortably with lawn chairs, coolers for beverages, and even a little canopy to shield them from the sun. On a wooden crate in the center rested a small flatscreen TV hooked up to display the visuals from Donnie's little spy drone, which was settled next to an old abandoned birdnest sitting on a ledge on the school's outer wall, overlooking the playground where Leo's class had just been let out for recess.

Leo was balanced lightly on top of the dark green plastic roof of the tallest part of the main playground structure, crouched down and quietly watching the other kids scurry around him in play.

"C'mon Leo..." Mikey had opted to perch on top of the old water tower with a pair of binoculars instead of watching the screen like the rest. He narrowed his eyes as he looked through the lenses, as if trying to will his small human brother to hear him. "There's like a ton of kids out there! Go over and play with them!"

A teacher walked over and glared up at Leo, pointing up at him with her other hand on her hip. While it was too far away for them to overhear what she was saying, she was obviously scolding him.

Leo listened, nodded respectfully, and carefully slid off the roof to stand instead on the top platform that led to the bright yellow slide. Satisfied that he was now safely on a part of the structure that was intended for use, the teacher nodded and walked off. Leo instead settled for climbing up to rest his chin on his arms on the railing, his feet having to rest against the bottom rung instead of the floor due to his height as he resumed his watch.

Raph frowned and set down his beer, reaching instead for a small notepad and pencil. "Donnie?"

"No, Raph. Just... no." Donnie sighed, fingering his forehead. "She was just doing her job. She wasn't causing Leo any trouble, she was just making sure he wouldn't fall off and get hurt."

Raph snorted, gesturing toward the wooden, metal, and plastic structure consisting of several levels to climb up on, a large net and monkey bars, a giant tic tac toe board, a sliding pole, and two slides. "Leo ain't going to fall off that. That's like baby mode for him!"

"She doesn't know that!" Donnie pointed out. "Most kids aren't trained to be ninjas!"

"Guys! Guys! Look!" April sudden squealed in delight, pointing at the screen, then called up. "Mikey, Quickly! Square 2-F! Adorableness incoming!"

While planning for this day, they had taken a map of the playground and divided it up into a grid, tactically plotting it out. Mikey scanned over with his binoculars to the coordinates that she had instructed, and then grinned widely when he saw what she had seen.

A group of six girls were sitting there, huddled together as they giggled and whispered to one another, throwing looks and trying (and failing) to discreetly point at Leo, still quietly keeping vigil over his playground. One girl in particular with her brown hair pulled back in a ponytail was blushing especially hard as her companions elbowed and playfully teased her, and it quickly became obviously that they were encouraging her to go up to him.

Finally, red faced and looking back to her giggling friends several times for reinforcement, the ponytail girl gathered up her nerve and walked slowly over to climb up the steps of the playground gym up to Leo, pausing before him with one arm held behind her back and shyly twisting in place as she said something to him. Leo looked over to her unsurely, but nodded politely and replied to whatever she said.

Oh, how Mikey wished he could hear what they were saying! Was Leo recording this on his tWatch? He hoped so, so they could rewatch it later, assuming they be able to pry it from their mortified brother's hands to download the data. He was talking to a girl! It was totally adorbs!

Of course, even as a human, Leo was still his brother, and Mikey knew him well enough that he could read his body language. He could almost imagine what Leo was thinking.

 _'Greetings, Girl-Child. I am Protector-Leonardo. I know not what reason you have come over here to speak with me, but I feel obligated to inform you that since we are now both of Clan Fifth Grade, I will defend you with my very life if necessary'._

Ponytail girl rubbed her arm bashfully, then seemed to think of something, and spoke excitedly as she turned and pulled something out of her pocket, some little electronic device or something attached to a keychain. She seemed proud of it as she offered it to Leo, who took it very carefully and looked it over.

 _'Yes. This is definitely a Thing. I know not what it does, nor does it hold a lot of interest for me, but obviously you like it and it brings you joy, thus yes, I will acknowledge it as a Cool Thing and admire it for your sake. Now please take it back because I'm concerned that if I push the wrong button, it will erupt in fire. Trust me, that happens.'_

He handed the Cool Thing back to her with a few words and a polite but uncertain smile, and she said something excitedly, before turning to wave at her friends.

 _'Wait, what are you... No, no, you don't have to... No, don't summon your companions over here! Ack! Girl-Child! What are you doing?! Why?! Why would do you do this to me?!'_

Obviously deemed safe to approach by Ponytail, Leo was quickly surrounded by her entire pack of friends, who all giggled, chattered happily, and eagerly each showed him their own versions of the Cool Thing. Mikey would have to ask Leo was they were later. Were those little digital pets back in style? Mikey loved those things!

Poor mobbed Leo reminded Mikey of a video he watched once of a doberman covered with little tiny kittens crawling all over. _'Oh gods, somebody please help me! I'm terrified that if I even sneeze too hard, I'm going to scare and/or hurt them!'_

"This might be the cutest thing I've ever seen." April observed, grinning like a proud soccer mama.

Donnie was quickly typing away on his laptop, his attention divided between wanting to watch his brother's plight on the small tv screen, and whatever project he was doing on his computer. Probably running background checks on each of the girls. Casey was sprawled back in his chair, snickering and obviously finding great amusement in this. Raph was holding his beer idly in one hand, but he wasn't paying much attention to it, instead leaning forward and watching the events play out with an unusually soft smile on his face. Mikey was sure that if he realized that anybody was looking at him, he'd cough and go back to his usual tough-guy mode, but Mikey knew exactly how he was feeling.

This. This is exactly what they wanted for Leo.

To be normal.

Then the smile on April's face turned into a slightly concerned frowned. "Hm. Leo? What do you see, buddy?" she curiously asked the screen, even though Leo obviously couldn't hear her.

Mikey quickly took up his binoculars again.

Leo's attention was no longer on the girls surrounding him. He was serious and all business now, intently studying something happening elsewhere with narrowed blue eyes.

The girls noticed this as well, and glanced off to see what had caught their attention. Their faces soured as they noticed whatever it was as well, and Ponytail turned to explain something to him.

Mikey shifted his binoculars up to see what the fuss was all about.

"Oh. Um... Uh-oh..." Yeah... Leo wasn't going to stand for this.

There were two large older boys who had a much younger, smaller boy pushed up against the fence, obviously threatening him.

"Wait, no! Leo, don't jump off of the..." April started to protest, then stopped and sighed in resignation. Even from this distance, Mikey could faintly hear girls squeal in alarm. "...And he just jumped off of the slide tower. So much for keeping a low profile."

And then Leo was striding up behind the bullies, his stance deceptively relaxed and easy. He said something to the bullies, arms crossed and eyes narrowed. They dropped the kid that they had been threatening, and turned to this even smaller kid who was for some reason challenging them.

One of them laughed, and it was obvious by his facial expressions that he was mocking him as he walked over to grab Leo.

And then, suddenly, he was face down in the dirt.

The three brothers watched events unfold with all the interest of battle-hardened veterans, ready to intervene if needed, but mostly just appreciating the finer points of a good brawl. By the time the teachers finally arrived to break up the fight, Leo had both bullies sitting on the ground and backed up against the wall in fear, staring up at this tiny but oddly terrifying blue eyed kid as he sternly lectured them.

Leo looked offended up at the teacher that began scolding him as others began checking on the bullies to see if they were hurt. Then all four kids, including the originally bullied child, were escorted back into the school.

"Well, that was interesting while it lasted." Casey leaned back, taking a sip of his beer. He had looked more interested in the fight then he had with adorableness of the girl swarm. "It looks like Leo's training's paying off. Did you guys see his form? Nice, dude!"

Raph clicked his tongue and shook his head, relaxing again now that the fight was done. "He still needs to watch his balance." He leaned back in his chair and waved his hand that held the beer. "I'm theorizing that with all his subconscious memories, he's still actin' like he has the weight of a shell on his back. We need to work on that."

"And I'm thinking that maybe we need to start working on some problem solving techniques that don't immediate devolve into violence." April sighed, fingering her forehead. "Leo can't just beat up all his problems in life."

Casey looked at her blankly, blinking. "He can't?"

"That's why we're here." Raph scoffed and set his can of beer aside so he could punch his open palm. "Whatever he can't beat up, we take care of. Speaking of which, Donnie?" He picked up his notepad and pencil again and looked at his purple brother expectantly.

Donnie sighed, and glanced down at his laptop, finishing up his typing. "Just promise me that you're not going to let loose anything rabid in their living room."

"Only the healthiest vermin." Raph promised.

"There's that one raccoon that keeps sneaking into April's attic." Casey mentioned casually, taking a sip of beer. "Seems healthy enough."

April's tPhone began to ring, and she glanced down at it and sighed. "And there's the school calling me now. Excuse me, I have to take this." She stood up and walked off to the side, answering the phone with a degree of resignation.

Mikey lifted up his binoculars again and studied the kids left milling around the playground. There were quite a few of them gathered around the area where the fight had happened, obviously impressed as they talked about it. Shifting his view around, Mikey finally located Ponytail and her Girl Mob. They were now sitting next to each other on the edge of one of the playground platforms, talking amongst each other excitedly, gesturing wildly, giggling, and occasionally fanning themselves with their hands.

Mikey grinned.

Oh, if Leo got a fanclub following out of this, Mikey was so in.

* * *

When April arrived and stepped into the principal's office later, she found Leo standing on a chair and sternly giving the rather flustered and bewildered principal a stern lecture on allowing nepotism to bias discipline, and how they should be the first ones in line to protect their students from bullying, no matter who was related to who. It turned out that one of the teenagers Leo took down was the son of the superintendent, and usually his bullying ways went under the radar. And thus Leo got a week's suspension on his first day of school.

On the plus side, Leo found out that the kid that he saved was a major Space Heroes fan as well, one thing led to another, and he ended up, unexpectedly, absorbed into the nerdy clique. He got to enthuse with other Spacies, joined their Mazed and Mutants sessions, and even managed to convince the others that his brothers were just really LARPers who were enthusiastically obsessive about their cosplay. Bullies soon began to warn one another about leaving this group of nerds alone, because their smallest, most unassuming-looking member was surprisingly dangerous. That, and, mysteriously, wild raccoons always seemed to somehow got loose in their homes and bedrooms shortly afterwards.

* * *

 **Author Notes:** There will probably won't be too much involving Leo's school adventures after this except in conversations. I'm almost two decades distant from my own school days (yes, I know, I'm way too old to be writing Ninja Turtle fanfics), and what experiences I did have probably differs vastly from what I imagine most people experience, so all of my knowledge of public schools in a big city comes from sitcoms. I can't imagine they're very realistic.


	3. An Amazing Big Brother

**A/N** _This chapter wasn't planned, but it popped into my mind last night, and I had to pause my writing of my other story just to get it out of my system._

* * *

 **An Amazing Big Brother**

* * *

 **Leo: Aged 12**

I awoke with a gasp, jolting upwards as a strangled whimper escaped my throat. For just a moment, my whole being was seized with fear, my heart nearly pounding out of my chest as I struggled to desperately find my brothers. I couldn't move! Why couldn't I move?!

But then I quickly realized that I was not in some nondescript alleyway, but in my bedroom, and the reason I couldn't move was that somehow I had gotten tangled up in my blanket.

Still shivering and breathing hard, I sat up and shakily worked on unwinding the mess my bedding had become. I must have really been tossing and turning. But it had only been a nightmare. Or... maybe a memory? It probably was a memory. Egh, it was so hard to tell sometimes.

At the foot of my bed, a lump of black fur shifted, and then Fearless uncurled and gave a long stretch, apparently awoken out of a deep slumber. He sat up, gave a sleepy attempt at a bath, and then yawned and plodded across the bed to see if he could solicit some pets from me now that I was awake.

I absently reached over and scratched his head, thankful for his presence.

That... dream, memory, whatever it was... continued to replay over and over in my mind. It had seemed so real, and yet, at the same time, it had been so vague that I didn't really know what exactly was going on. Only how I felt. And the feelings... the feelings were definitely... I shuddered. There had been fighting... Danger... so much danger everywhere... My brother, he needed me! He was in trouble! I needed to get to him NOW! ... But... but... I couldn't get there in time... And... and then there had been a cry of pain...

A cry that still seemed to reverberate through my very bones.

I hugged myself tightly, shuddering and trying to hold back the tears that wanted to fall. I had failed! One of my brothers had gotten hurt! But... it was only a dream, right? It wasn't real! Everything was okay! We were in the lair, everybody was safe and unharmed. My family lived a very dangerous life, so of course there had been battles where injuries occurred. I already knew that, and this was probably a memory of one such incident. Yes, I had failed, but it was in the past, in another lifetime. It was just an echo of a memory. There was no danger, no threats. Obviously my brothers were fine now.

They were fine.

I plopped back onto my bed, trying to calm my beating heart with breathing exercises. It was still the middle of the night, and I had school in the morning. If I wanted to be awake and alert, I needed to get some sleep.

It was just a dream.

Everything was fine.

I lay there for a moment, tapping my fingers on the sheets. Then I rolled over onto my side and pulled the blanket tightly over me, screwing my eyes tightly closed and trying to will myself to forget the dream and go back to sleep.

The echoes of the nightmare were still there, though, lurking in every thought, every breath. If I fell asleep again, would that dream continue? The feeling of helplessness as the monsters lurked all around us, dangerous and deadly, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't fight them all off, I couldn't reach my brother in time and... and...

I quietly pushed the blanket off me and turned to slip out of bed. Fearless only gave a little squeak as I picked him up, but I rubbed his ears, and he purred and seemed content to be carried as I clutched him close,. Fighting back tears, I quietly pushed open the door, and silently moved through the dark, quiet lair.

I could feel the auras of my family as they slept, and it brought me a much-need sense of relief. Feeling rather foolish even as I trembled, I stopped by each of the bedroom doors to reassure myself that they were each still there, and that they were alright.

I didn't peek in on Donnie and April's room of course, but I could sense them sleeping peacefully inside. I leaned against the door for a moment or two, just soaking in the calm, soothing auras. They were okay, my family was okay.

Then there was the room that Raph and Casey shared. Raph was sound asleep in his heavily reinforced hammock, one arm dangling over the edge as he snored softly. Casey was buried somewhere in his messy nest of a bed, I could see one foot sticking out over the foot of the bed. I carefully set Fearless down and snuck in to cover him up better, before picking the patient cat back up and continuing my walk through the darkened lair.

When I came to the last bedroom, I paused uncertainly just outside the door. I bit my lip, and glanced between his door, and down the hallway towards my own. I exhaled, and inwardly scolded myself. Why was I like this?! I was Leonardo! This was so dumb! I was fine. Everything was fine! It was just a stupid dream, after all. Or memory. Or whatever it was. In any case, it wasn't real _now_ , and that's all that mattered. My brothers weren't hurt _now_. So, yeah, good job, I had given in slightly and indulged my inner paranoia, and ta-dah, had proven that very obviously fact that everybody is just FINE to myself by checking. There. Now I could stop being childish and stupid and just go back to my own bed.

I glanced back at the dark, empty doorway of my bedroom, and shuddered. The cry of pain from my dream echoed through my brain once more, and I suppressed a whimper and fought back tears. Before I could stop myself, I turned back towards my brother's bedroom, clutched Fearless closer and pushed the door open, slipping inside the room and quietly padding across the floor to Mikey's bed.

My orange brother was sprawled on his plastron, sound asleep. Even in his thirties, his freckled face made him look so much younger then he actually was. His orange aura, even in his sleep, felt as warm as a summer's day.

I swallowed hard and shifted from foot to foot, hugging Fearless tightly for support while trying to convince myself to just stop being so foolish. This was stupid. I was being stupid.

Mikey's nose gave a twitch in his sleep as apparently something tickled his nose, a cat hair, maybe, and his breathing hitched with a little snort, before smoothing out back into regular breathing again.

That was excuse enough for me.

"Mikey?" I whispered, quiet at first, but then a little louder. "Hey. Mikey!" I gently placed a hand on his snout and shook slightly.

He gave a snort, then his eyes fluttered open. " _Snk?_ Hm? Huh?" His baby blue eyes focused on me groggily. "Leo?" He rubbed his face, then turned his attention back on me, waking up just a little bit more. "Oh, hey Leo. You okay bro?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I nodded, my voice muffled with my face half buried in a purring Fearless's fur as I clutched the large cat closely. "It... It just looked like you might be having a nightmare or something, so... y'know,... I... I thought I'd just check and make sure that you were okay."

Mikey sleepily blinked at me. I realized just how pathetic I sounded.. But, to my surprise, then he smiled at me and nodded. "Oh yeah. Thank you, bro." He yawned. "Man, you woke me up just in time, that dream was getting pretty intense."

I raised my head and blinked at him. "It... it was?"

He gave me a sleepy smile. "Yeah, it was quite... something. Heh. You somehow always did know just when I was having bad dreams. Like a sixth sense about it or something. Must be a big brother thing, huh?" He shifted on the bed, moving over a bit. "Say, big bro, do you mind staying here with me for a bit? I'm not sure I'll be able to fall back asleep otherwise."

I felt relief flood through me, and I quickly scrambled up on his bed, reaching up and setting Fearless down on Mikey's blanket covered shell. "Of... of course I'd be happy to! It's no problem whatsoever."

"Thanks, Leo. I'll feel so much safer with you here." Mikey smiled and used an arm to lift up the blanket and wrap it around me, pulling me in close. I happily snuggled in, and exhaled, allowing myself to melt into warm cocoon created by the blankets and Mikey's shell, my muscles finally relaxing as I melted into the soft mattress.

Fearless purred and kneaded the blankets for a while, before finding the perfect spot and curling up in a black ball of fur.

With Mikey's warm arm draped over me, I started feeling sleepy again, and this time, I didn't feel the least bit nervous about falling back asleep. The monsters and memories of my nightmares were no match for the warm sunshine of the orange aura surrounding me.

Still...

"Mikey?" I drowsily murmured against him. "You... you know that I'll always protect you guys, right? I'll always do everything I can to keep you safe."

Mikey gave a sleepy chuckle and nuzzled the top of my head fondly. "Yeah... we all know that, Leo." He yawned, and snuggled back against his pillow, already half asleep. "You've always been an amazing big brother."

I couldn't help the smile that curved the corner of my mouth, and I snuggled in further against my brother's plastron. "Just making sure you know. Love you, Mikey."

"Love ya too, Leo."

Yawning, and feeling warm and safe and protected in my older younger brother's embrace, I didn't even notice as I finally drifted back to a peaceful sleep once more.

* * *

 **A/N** _Mikey makes a pretty good big brother. He learned from the best, after all._


	4. Reflections of a Blade

**Chapter 3: Reflections of a Blade**

 _Leo: 12 Years Old_

* * *

I stood there for a long moment, trying to get my breathing under control.

After so much effort, tonight was the night. The hours of meditating and delving deep within myself, trying to regain forgotten memories, sneaking in to practice katas and train until my muscles ached, only to get caught and scolded by my brothers...

Tonight, it would happen. Tonight, I would finally earn back my place in this family.

Tonight, I would officially become a ninja once again.

Swallowing hard, I stepped into the dojo, trying to calm my excited heartbeat.

It looked completely different from the dojo where I trained and sparred with my brothers and sensei. At those times, the dojo was well lit and noisy as weapons and bodies crashed together. A training grounds filled with serene katas and patient lessons and curses and sweat and competitive smirks.

But now... now it was quiet and dark, and held an aura of sacred mystery, the shadows tingling with the scent of incense. The only dim light came from the small, flickering flames of dozen upon dozens of candles, throwing dancing shadows upon the room dividers covered in elaborately painted scenes of Japanese warriors and the walls covered in scrolls of calligraphy and weapon racks displaying finely polished blades.

My brothers sat lined up against the wall in a row, even Mikey sitting properly and respectfully in a neat seiza pose. Casey, who was not officially a ninja, but still part of the clan and thus involved, sat cross legged on the floor off on the other side. He had actually combed back his hair and put on a nice pair of jean and a new black shirt that had no tears in it.

And under the tree, now decorated with white lights and hanging paper lanterns, sat my sensei, April. She was kneeling serenely under the tree, dressed in a beautiful silk kimono covered in cherry blossom and watching me with pride in those green eyes.

"Hamato Leonardo, step forward." April nodded at me.

Wordlessly, I bowed respectfully, and then carefully strode in on socked feet. I stopped before her, and knelt down, bowing down respectfully once again. Almost nervously, I began subconsciously running my hands over my blue pleated hakama and matching kimono to smooth them down. Then I caught myself doing so and stopped myself with an inward scolding.

I was calm. I was in control. I was a ninja. I would not fidget!

"Leonardo, you have shown yourself to possess great honor, courage, and strength." April started. "You have passed all tests set before you with exceptional skill, and it is my greatest honor and privilege to graduate you to a full ninja in Clan Hamato. I know that you will cherish this privilege with supreme devotion, and I know that in you lies an honorable warrior whose loyalty is indeed priceless, and whose courage is beyond compare."

She smiled at me, then gestured around the dark dojo. "As a ninja, the shadows are our home and our sanctuary. Our identity is sacred, and ours alone to decide, to give out, or keep hidden. Wear this, then, with that lesson in mind." She nodded towards my brothers, and Raph gracefully stood up and walked over.

He knelt down beside me, carrying a strip of blue cloth in his hands. Then he was quiet for a long moment. I glanced up at him, curious as to the delay, and noticed that he was staring down at me with an oddly emotional look, his nostrils flaring and his electric green eyes staring deeply into my own sapphire blue.

Then he gave a shaky exhale and, uncharacteristically gentle and tender, he reached over and set the blue mask against my face, before carefully tying it into place.

I swallowed hard, and reached up to touch it. It was if a piece of myself was just given back to me, yet another puzzle piece snapped back into place in my soul.

The cool cloth on my face just felt _right_.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, then finally opened them and looked up at Raph gratefully.

He was obviously caught off guard, and almost gave a strange noise in the back of his throat, but quickly coughed it away, reached over to ruffle my hair roughly, as quickly got up, almost fleeing to take his place against the wall again. He knelt there, hands tightly clenched on his knees, and obviously trying to appear casual while trying to blink away any moisture that might have built up in his eyes.

Donnie, sitting next to him, smirked and elbowed him teasingly. Raph glared at him and gave him a quick rough punch to the shoulder.

April ignored them both, though she had tears in her eyes as well at the sight of the blue mask on my face. She cleared her throat and continued. "As a ninja, we must be quick to adapt and overcome any obstacle that might arise in front of us. We must be clever, and learn to balance the need to travel fast and light with wisdom of carrying the utensils and instruments that might be needed. Wear this, then, with that lesson in mind."

Donnie stood up this time, carrying a well stocked leather utility belt, supple and soft and embroidered with the Hamato clan symbol. He knelt down beside me as well, and gave me a proud nod, which slowly faded away the longer he looked me over. Swallowing hard, he bent down and gently pressed his forehead against mine, closing his eyes and breathing deeply for a moment.

Then he opened his eyes, gave me a tearful smile, and offered me the belt, helping me buckle it on. It included two straps that ran up over my right shoulder, which had me itching in anticipation. He grinned when he noticed how excited I was trying not to be, and chuckled a little. He reached up and smoothed down my hair, which Raph had messed up, and then stood up and moved back to take his seat. Mikey offered him a tissue, and he took it gratefully, dabbing at his eyes.

"And finally," April gave me a gentle smile, though her eyes shone with excitement on my behalf, "As a ninja, we must be prepared to defend our clan from those that wish to do us evil, and to strike down those that dare to raise weapons against those we have sworn to protect. When we combine our skill and courage and honor, then we become worthy to wield the true tools of a warrior. Leonardo, you were a warrior unsurpassed in your past life. I have no doubt that you will show the same level of mercy and compassion in this one as you take the lives of others into your own hands. Wear these, then, with that lesson in mind."

And now it was Mikey's turn to stand up, and I could only watch as he walked over, carrying two sheathed katanas wrapped in a rich blue silk. Unlike the other two gifts, which were new and untouched, these swords were well worn and carried the nicks of a thousand battles.

He knelt before me, his eyes filled with complete trust and faith. I was his big brother, and I would protect him always.

"Here you go, bro." he said softly, handing me the katanas. "I think these are yours."

I couldn't breathe for a second as I reached out and took them. Then the air I had been holding all slowly exhaled at once, and I unwrapped the silk and looked at the worn and carefully repaired scabbard.

This was it.

These were mine.

I swallowed hard, my eyes never leaving the sheathed blades. Their weight in my hands... the worn leather of the scabbard... It was all so acutely familiar, and my heart began to beat faster.

Slowly, reverently, I wrapped one hand around the wrapped hilt, and paused, taking a moment to soak in the feeling of the grip that once settled so often against my palm in a past life. Then, slowly, gently, I slid the blade out several inches, marveling at the smooth glide.

The metal had been lovingly buffed and polished, shining so brightly that it almost seemed to glow with its own inner light, its silver sheen contrasting sharply with the warm yellow glow of the candles.

I turned the blade around a little curiously, examining it, and then my breath hitched in my throat as I caught what should have been my reflection.

There, in the surface of the blade, was the face of a turtle with two sapphire eyes set in a band of blue cloth looking back at me.

For just a heartbeat, it felt as if time stopped.

I stared, unable to move or speak or do anything except stare at that reflection, completely mesmerized by the achingly familiar face.

"Leo?"

The spell was quickly broken.

Startled by the voice that broke through the haze and April's gentle touch on my arm, I looked up at her.

"Are you alright?" she asked, a curious look on her face. "You looked pretty spaced out there for a second."

Swallowing hard, I looked down at the blade again. A human child with black hair, a blue bandana, and sapphire eyes looked back.

I nodded, taking a deep breath and sheathing the katana once more. "I'm fine."

Looking over at my brothers, who were watching me with pride written on each of their faces, I felt my soul soar up inwardly with such overwhelming happiness, pride, and love that it almost was overwhelming.

This was my family.

And nothing could ever take me away from them.

I was Hamato Leonardo, and I would protect my clan always.

I stood up and confidentally slid the two katanas into the straps on my back, reveling in their weight against my shoulders and feeling ready to take on any threat to my family.

It felt good.

"Uh... Leo?"

I glanced over to Mikey, who had an eyeridged raised. I followed his gaze behind me, and then realized what he was trying to tell me.

The bottoms of the sheaths were only inches from touching the floor.

Wait...

Oh no...

I twisted about in a panic to try and better see behind me.

No!

I was too short to wield my katanas!

Apparently my appalled and utterly aghast facial expression was too much for my brothers, and they broke out laughing while simultaneously coming over to hug and comfort me.

"Aw, Leo, bro, don't be upset." Mikey pressed his beak into my cheek in what was probably meant to be a comforting smooch.

"I'm not upset!" I growled, pushing his face away with both hands.

How could I not be upset?! These were my weapons! My pride as a warrior! And I couldn't use them anymore!

Donnie chuckled and gave me a comforting squeeze on the shoulders. "Don't worry, Leo. You'll grow into them."

"When?!" I threw up my hands. "How many years will that take?!"

I had been so excited! I was finally going to get my weapons back! I was going to be a true ninja again!

But there was no way I would be able to skillfully wield my beloved katanas if I was only a freaking foot taller then them!

"You weren't that much taller when Splinter first gave them to ya." Raph shrugged, reaching over to move the tail of my new bandana over my shoulder. "You managed then just fine. Just use them for practice right now, like you did then. Meanwhile, there's other weapons you can use." He looked up to April, who nodded and stepped back.

"Dammit." I muttered as I facepalmed, mortified. Then I reached back and unhappily slid the katana scabbards off my back. I looked down at them as I held them, unsure of what I should do next. My weapons didn't fit me anymore. What did I do now? How could I be who I was supposed to be?

"Here." April came up behind me, and held out a beautiful wooden box of polished cherry wood, the Hamato clan symbol etched on the surface. "For now, why don't you try these instead?"

I looked up at her, then at the wooden box, blinking.

"I thought this might happen. You're still only twelve, Leo." she knelt down in front of me, balancing the box on one knee as she reached out and put a hand on my shoulder, looking at me seriously. "You will grow into them, I promise. But don't feel like you need to grow up too fast. Right now, you get the opportunity to have something you and your brothers were sadly denied. An actual chance at childhood. Don't throw away this precious chance because you feel the need to carry all of our burdens on your shoulders." She gently brushed my hair back out of my face. "If you wish to lead us again one day, then we will wait for you. Until then, trust in your brothers and their skills and abilities. Take the experience of growing up, and cherish it. You'll become so much stronger for it.

I swallowed hard, then, after a moment, slowly looked around at my brothers, one by one.

My Red Brother, who merely crossed his arms and snorted, embarrassed and acting as if he wasn't really paying attention, though I could see his green eyes darting over to watch me hopefully.

My Purple Brother, who flashed me a still-gap toothed smile, kind and generous, confident and capable of solving any problem. He would find a way to build a stairway to the moon, if only his brothers asked it of him.

And my Orange Brother, sitting there wiggling in place like he couldn't wait to wrap his arms around me in a hug after this was done, a warm soul filled with life and love and joy.

They all sat around me, and radiating love, warmth, and strength.

April picked the box up again and offered it to me once more.

I took the box, which was a little heavier then I expected. I set it on the ground before opening it up.

Laying on a rich brown silk cloth lay two sheathed identical short swords. Each had elaborate gold and black hilts with a single protective prong similar to the ones found on sais.

I picked one up, admiring the quality and balance, then unsheathed it curiously. The brilliant blade was about as long as an adult's forearm, flat and broad with only one edge sharpened. "Daos?" I asked curiously.

"Yes. Though in a pair like this, they're often called butterfly swords." April explained. She gave me a sly look. "And, if anything, I thought that the name is appropriate. The butterfly is a symbol of rebirth, after all."

I paused, then swallowed hard, looking down studying the blades anew.

Butterfly swords, huh?

A new beginning...

I carefully re-sheathed the sword and, picking up its twin, moved to strap them in, letting them settle on my back where my old swords once hung.

Then I picked up my old katanas, and carefully moved over to the corner that held the shrines, each currently decorated with candles and fresh offerings set out. I gently placed the katanas back on the weapon rack atop the shrine bearing the portrait of a blue masked turtle.

Then I turned back to my clan, who were all sitting there, watching me wordlessly, and I gave them a crooked smile and a nod, taking comfort in the feeling of the blades I now carried.

I was Hamato Leonardo.

This was my clan, and nothing would ever take me away from them.

And one day I would grow up and lead them once more.


	5. The Doctor

~Leo: Age 12; Four weeks before starting the sixth grade

 **Author Note** : _So this chapter wasn't planned at all, and just came up spontaneously in the middle of writing the previous chapter. One interesting thing about writing these stories is that sometimes even I'm a little surprised by what comes up. I had no idea that Leo was apprehensive about hospitals. But, it only seemed logical that they would consider taking him to one, and then his response to that seemed natural. I have to imagine that the turtles would all have a deep, ingrained distrust of medical facilities, even the 2k12 versions, who didn't have to deal with a particularly evil version of Bishop like the 2k3 turtles did. It just comes with being a mutant in a world where scientific curiosity isn't always ethical. Compound those underlying instincts with his traumatic experiences as a young Peter Eastman, and Leo's bound to have all sorts of issues with hospitals. I imagine eventually he'll grow out of it, like he'll eventually learn to overcome the deep seated abandonment issues that he's currently dealing with, but currently he is just a kid, after all, with an immature child's mind, no matter how Leo he is deep down._

 _Thus, while writing the last chapter, this scenario popped into my mind, and I couldn't help but enjoy writing it. The timeline in this story is fluid, I'll be adding stories as I think of them, and not chronologically, and more then likely this took place before the events of the last two chapters._

* * *

"This is perfect." Donnie crowed happily, alternating between examining the salvaged mechanical goods held in boxes in his two turtle brothers' arms and tapping at a tablet screen, obviously going through some sort of checklist. "We found the jackpot tonight, my brothers."

"So do you think this is enough?" Raph peered down at the cardboard box he held of wires, metal pieces, electronics, and small but broken appliances they had salvaged from the dump.

"It should be for now." Donnie said absently, going back to his tablet. "This will help a lot with several of my projects I have going, I might even be able to complete a few of them tonight!"

"Awesome." Mikey blew a large bubble and snapped it, before happily resuming his chewing. "If you're happy, then we're happy, bro."

"Uh, Mikey..." Raph gave him a look. "That was from the pack of gum April bought you, and not from the dump. Right?"

Mikey considered the question, and then merely settled for giving Raph a playful smirk as he deliberately snapped another bubble, skipping backwards lightly and easily, even with his hands full of their salvaged prizes. "That's a mystery for you to forever ponder, isn't it, Raphie?"

They were just entering the lair now, easily stepping through the turnstiles, and the scenario that greeted them made all three of them forget about Mikey's gum acquisition.

"Hamato Leonardo, you get out here right now!" April's voice had definitely taken up that dangerous parental 'I'm going to count to ten' tone as she knelt down on her hands and knees, looking underneath the coffee table. "We're going to be late!"

"Uh...?" Mikey looked around, blinking questioningly, setting his box on the table. "Yo? We're back?"

"Oh, thank goodness!" April noticed them, and stood up, brushing off her knees and looking annoyed. She pointed at the three of them almost accusingly. " _Your_ brother is supposed to be at a doctor's appointment in half an hour for a physical and vaccinations for school, and he's suddenly nowhere to be found!"

"He ain't hiding in the weight room." Casey came out through a doorway, scratching his head. "At least, not that I could see."

"Leo's missing?!" Donnie immediately looked around, concerned, as he set aside his tablet. "You've checked the dojo?"

"Literally the first place we looked, dudes." Casey gave him a look.

"We've been looking in every nook and cranny for over an hour now!" April had moved over to the kitchen and began opening cupboards and looking under the sink, huffing and grumbling under her breath.

"You're sure he hasn't left the lair?" Raph frowned, looking around.

"Fairly certain?" April didn't sound very certain as she looked up, frowning. "Leo wouldn't. Not without telling anybody. He's not supposed to."

"He's also supposed to be out here, getting ready to go to his appointment." Donnie pointed out, heading towards his lab. "I'm going to check the security cameras."

"Maybe I should check around the entrance area in the tunnels." April frowned, looking at the entrance.

"Right. We'll keep looking here. Casey, follow here, and make your way down towards the garage." Raph took charge. "Leo's got to be around here somewhere."

"Right." the two adult humans nodded, and started out.

"I swear, once I get my hands on that boy..." April muttered. "I can't believe Leo of all people..." and then her voice faded away.

In a moment, it was just Raph and Mikey left in the kitchen.

"Think I'll go over the dojo again." Raph frowned, looking towards the cloth wall screen up above the pool of water, up where the training room lay. He was obviously far more worried then he was letting on.

Mikey clicked his tongue, shook his head, and walked over to the kitchen cabinets, opening one up and pulling out a small colorful pouch. "You guys need to work on your ninja tactics, bro." he said sagely, walking towards the dojo. "Sometimes the best way to solve a problem is to take the round about path."

Curious, Raph followed him through the curtained doorway and up the steps to the empty-looking dojo.

Mikey winked at him, then expertly crinkled the cat treat bag he held.

There was a thump, a small scuffle, and then a large black cat eagerly popped out and appeared on some pipes near the ceiling, revealing an almost invisible gap between two of the wooden wall panels, and jumped down, eagerly bounding over to Mikey, meowing and looking up at him expectantly.

"Fearless, you traitor!" I hissed out after him from my hiding spot up there, then, seeing my two brothers, quickly pulled back behind the wall.

"Oh no you don't, Leo!" Raph quickly leapt up to grab a pipe in one hand and hoisted himself up.

Far too large to fit into my small hiding spot, he nonetheless was able to shove his arm in, grasping around determinedly. I quickly turned and scrambled away, trying to retreat further into the small crawlspace between painted wall panels and stone sewer wall, but then a giant three fingered hand clamped around my ankle and started pulling me out.

"Raph! Leggo!" I protested, trying to grab a wooden beam to stop him, but I wasn't able to get a grip, and was quickly pulled out into the open to dangle by my ankle in my Red Shadow's grasp, now covered in a thick layer of grey dust bunnies.

Raph held me up in front of his face and cocked an eyeridge questioningly, obviously waiting for an explanation.

"We really need to start dusting back there." I tried to act nonchalant, dusting my clothing off even as I dangled upside down.

"The heck's going on with you, Leo?" Raph leapt down, landing lightly on the dojo floor while keeping a firm grip on my ankle.

"Yeah, dude, you must have heard April calling you!" Mikey finished feeding Fearless a treat and rubbed the cat's head, before standing up. "You're going to be late for your appointment! That's not like you, bro."

I looked around nervously as I continued to dangle. "She's going to drag me to the doctor's office!" I hissed.

He blinked at me in disbelief. "Really, Leo? That's what this is all about?"

"You're not actually scared of the doctor, are you Leo?" Mikey looked between me and Raph, obviously dumbfounded. "It's just an exam. They aren't a big deal."

"And shots! There's going to be shots!" I couldn't believe they were being so calm about this.

"Leo, you're the one with the seemingly supernatural pain threshold, and that's what's bugging you? They really don't hurt, y'know." Raph looked at me, unimpressed and obviously a little confused.

"You guys don't seem to understand!" I swung forward to grab Raph's face in my hands, grasping his beak firmly and looking him dead in the eyes. "Raph. Mikey. I'm going to be trapped in a medical building with very few escape options, most of the rooms don't even have windows. Locked in a small room, they're going to put me on an exam table, where I'm going to be poked, prodded, and closely inspected, completely at their mercy with sticks being shoved in my mouth and ears and stuff. Then, once they've documented every strength and weakness they can find, and entered all their observations about me into their databases for anybody to see, they're going to jab hollow steel needles into my muscle tissue, and inject some liquid chemicals into me!"

Raph and Mikey stared at me, and then looked at one another.

* * *

"Alright, guys, I'm pretty sure Leo's not in the tunnels, and I'm also fairly certain we're now late." April called out as she and Casey re-entered the lair.

Donnie stepped out of the lab. "Well, I didn't see anything on the video feed, and his phone signal is still coming from the lair. Raph, Mikey, you have any luck?" he called up to the dojo.

There was only silence.

"Raph? Mikey?" Donnie looked at April, perplexed.

Still nothing.

"Oh, for the love of..." April face palmed, and then stomped her way up to the dojo, where she only found Fearless chewing on the cat treat bag happily. "Oh, come on guys!"

Down below, Donnie noticed a slight ripple in the water under the tire swing, where their secondary exit lay. He moved over to peer down, and quickly spotted the three of us trying to quietly slip out. "Hey!" he leapt down. "Just where do you two think you're taking Leo?! He's already late for his appointment!"

Mikey shoved my into Raph's arms, and turned to throw himself at our startled Purple Brother, bravely sacrificing himself. "Fly, you fools!" he cried out, tackling Donnie into the water with a large splash. "I'll hold them off as long as I can!"

"Raph!" April-sensei seemed to catch on quickly, and she was already darting down. ""What on earth has gotten into you guys?! You bring Leo back right now! He has a doctor's appointment we need to be at!"

"You'll never take us alive!" Raph snarled, bolting down the tunnel, clutching me tightly as our angry red-haired human sister chased after us.

"Raph! Leo! Get back here!"

* * *

 **Author Notes:** _Later, after the doctor's appointment, April ended up having to buy EVERYBODY ice cream to help placate overprotective and slightly traumatized brothers._


	6. My Brother, My Shadow: Part One

**Author's Note** : _This part ended up being much longer then I expected (I know, I repeat this phrase far too often). I'm picky like that, and didn't want it to be so much longer then all the other chapters in this, and thus I decided to split it up into two parts. I'm comfortable with this plan, as the two parts deal with radically different emotions, and this gives it a little bit of a breather between them._

 _Also, a warning for this one, Raph is PISSED, and thus, there's a bit more colorful language then usual._

* * *

 **Chapter 4: My Brother. My Shadow. Part One  
**

* * *

"Raph! No!" I could hear Donnie snarl even from this distance. His voice was unusually commanding and serious. Just from the tone, I immediately realized something was terribly wrong. "I know you're upset, but you are not going out there right now!"

April-sensei and I looked at one another, concerned, and then quickly jogged the last few yard towards the lair.

Rounding the bend and coming up to the turnstiles, my eyes widened and my breath hitched.

Donnie was standing firmly with his arms spread out in front a bristled and obviously enraged Raph, the only barrier between my furious Red Shadow and the exit to the lair. Raph had a small cut on one cheek that was now just a smear of dried blood, as well as a few slightly larger bruises and cuts on his arms, and both hands and one leg were skinned up a little, as if he had gotten into a scuffle.

Raph was hurt? It didn't look bad, though.

But behind him... My heart dropped. Behind him was Mikey, sitting at the table, heavily bandaged up, bruised, bleeding, and holding an ice pack up to his face.

Mikey was hurt!

"Mikey!" I vaulted the turnstile, tossing my backpack aside as I bolted over to him, worriedly looking him over to see just how serious his injuries were. "Are you okay?! What happened?!"

"Hey Leo." Mikey gave me a half hearted smiled, then winced, before shifting the ice pack a little. "How was school today, bro?"

"Where's Casey?" April asked, worried.

Raph bristled all the more, snarling in rage. Donnie looked grave. "He'll be okay, but he's in the hospital."

I froze, dread running down my spine. "The... The hospital?!" I choked out. "Casey?"

"He'll be okay!" Donnie quickly held up his hands to reassure us. "But his leg was pretty badly broken and he might have a concussion."

"He's in there alone?!" I felt my chest tighten up.

"Well, it's not like we could ride in the ambulance with him there, Leo!" Raph snapped, obviously as unhappy about the situation as I was.

"I came back here to patch Mikey up, and planned on escorting April over there as soon as you guys got home." Donnie explained. "He's safe there, and the doctors can provide far superior care for his injuries then what I'm able to do here."

"What happened?" April demanded.

Donnie sighed. "We were ambushed by Hun."

That name... was only vaguely familiar. Not enough to trigger a memory. Grabbing an ice pack to hold against Mikey's knee, which looked a little swollen, I looked to April.

"He's the leader of the Purple Dragons." April explained, noticing my inquiring glance. "He's fairly skilled, and if he can actually get his chaotic gang organized, he can be dangerous."

"They must have been planning this for months, it looked like we were interrupting a normal smash and grab, and all of a sudden there were cars exploding. Caught us completely by surprise." Raph snarled, turning to overturn a chair in rage, sending it clattering to the floor. He was breathing heavily, and every muscle in his body was tense as he paced in a fury, ranting. "It's a miracle that Casey wasn't killed! He woulda been if Mikey hadn't tackled him out of the way!"

"Speaking of Casey, April should probably go over to check on him, and I'd love to escort my wife safely over there, but I'm also worried about a stupid meathead running out by himself and getting killed!" Donnie snarled accusingly at Raph.

"We managed to overhear a few of the bastards talking." Raph whirled about to face April, arguing his case defensively. "Hun is meeting with tonight with some of his lieutenants down in a warehouse to discuss moving some stuff. If we move now, we could turn the tables and ambush them! It sounds like some important stuff is going down, and we could really punch a blow in their plans!"

"That sounds awfully suspicious." I frowned, eyes narrowed. "It could be a trap."

"Yes! Thank you, Leo!" Donnie exclaimed.

"It ain't a fuckin' trap!" Raph punched the wall with a snarl. "There's no way they coulda known we overheard them! We need to hit them hard, and we need to hit them _NOW_!"

"Raph, we are in no shape to get into a fight!" Donnie snapped at him, gesturing towards Mikey. "Casey and Mikey are out, you're banged up, and while I was fortunate enough to miss the worst of it, I think I'd rather make sure that Casey doesn't die of brain hemorrhaging!" His voice had risen by almost an entire octave by the end of that little rant.

"So I'll go out and take 'em by myself, no sweat!" Raph started to push forward angrily. " I just got a few scratches, and they're only Purple Dragons!"

"Not alone you're not!" Donnie snapped right back, pushing back.

"We ain't going to get another chance like this! I'm going!" Raph hissed, using his much stronger bulk to shove his purple brother aside. He turned, only to find himself facing April.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Raph, you're not thinking straight right now. Listen to Donnie."

"They hurt Mikey! They almost killed Casey!" Raph raged at her, his electric green eyes burning so hot they looked like glowing green embers. "I ain't going to let that go!"

"Raph!" April tried to push him back. "Calm down!"

"I got this!" Raph pushed past her brusquely. "I'll be back in a few hours." He turned back to the turnstile exit determinedly, then paused when he encountered an unexpected roadblock.

A four foot three inch tall twelve year old weighing a total of sixty five pounds stood there in his way, arms crossed.

"You're staying home, Raph." I said in a low tone that suggested finality.

"Leo..." Raph growled in a low voice.

"Raph, this reeks of a trap, and you've already been ambushed once today." I narrowed my blue eyes at him, steeling them over. "We will deal with Hun, but only on our terms, as a team, and when we are ready to do so."

"Yeah, well, I'm deciding my terms are going out and smashing Hun and his buddies while the iron's hot." Raph snarled, taking a threatening step forward. "And I'm more then ready to do so." I was a twelve year old human, on the small side even by normal standards, and he was a thirty two year old giant mutant turtle that was all muscle and solid shell. If he even grabbed me too hard, he could crush me.

I stood my ground, not at all intimidated and not budging an inch from the exit. "Raph, you're staying here, and that's an order."

"Oh?" he sneered, his nostrils flaring. "Oh, really. And just how do you plan on stopping me, Leo?"

I shrugged, then casually played my hand. "If you go, then I'm going too."

He stopped at that, blinked, then immediately bristled up defensively at the very suggestion. "Like _HELL_ you are!"

"Well then, don't go out, and you don't have to worry about me following you into a gang fight."

"What?! No, you ain't going no matter if I go or not! You're just a kid right now, Leo! You ain't going out on the streets fighting anybody!"

"You think you can stop me?" I shot back, daring him with a look.

"Ha!" His lip curled in a snarl, and he stepped forward menacingly. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I easily could, Leo."

I merely looked up at him, arms still crossed. "How?"

Eyes narrowed, he leaned down so his beak was almost touching my nose and sneered. "Yo Leo, in case you forgot, I'm a lot bigger and stronger then you right now!"

"Oh no!" I rolled my eyes, waving my hands in sarcastic fear. "What will you do? Pick me up and put me in another room? I can open doors, you know." I narrowed my eyes at him. "Pick locks too, if you're thinking of sinking that far. Maybe tie me up? We both know you won't do that."

Raph straightened up, nostrils flaring in frustration. Finally, he growled and turned towards April, gesturing towards me as if I were her responsibility. "Tell him, April!"

"Raph, NOBODY is going out to fight Purple Dragons tonight." April said firmly, hands on hips and glaring at both of us. "Neither of you are to leave this lair!"

"Sorry, Sensei, but if Raph is going to be stupid enough to walk into another ambush, then I am going too." I said firmly.

"No you ain't!" Raph snarled. "And it ain't an ambush!"

"You'd be surprised at how quiet and stealthy being this small and light makes me." I raised an eyebrow, daring him to try it. "You won't sneak very far away without me shadowing you, if that's what you're thinking."

"Oh, I bet I could!" Raph snapped, obviously taking it as a challenge.

I merely smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Do you really want to risk that bet?"

Raph blinked several times, then he sputtered incoherently for a second, before he snarled at me, started and abandoned a dozen arguments, and finally, at a loss, grabbed his head and stomped around in a frustrated circle. "Gah!"

"Oh, go take a shower and cool off." I snorted, unamused by the drama.

"Fuck you, Leo!" Raph turned and stormed off towards the showers angrily.

"Love you too, Raph." I called out after him, rolling my eyes.

And then there was silence in the lair once more.

April sighed and put a hand to her forehead. "I'm going to have so many words with that turtle..." she growled as she stomped off after him.

After a moment, Mikey lowered his ice pack and spoke up, sounding awed. "Man, Leo, your rebellious teenage years are either going to be amazingly awesome, or amazingly terrifying."

* * *

After April had a long conversation with Raph, and they were convinced that Raph had calmed down and was no longer in danger of storming out to avenge his injured siblings, Donnie and April took off to head towards the hospital so April could go in and stay with Casey, while Donnie stood guard, hidden outside.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked once again, moving to readjust Mikey's pillow once more. Donnie had ordered him to rest in bed.

"Dude, dinged by exploding cars? Psh, nothing." Mikey scoffed, happily eating the bowl of ice cream I brought in for him. He waved his spoon. "I've been in exploding space ships! Exploding buildings! Exploding giant godzilla shaped Mega-Shredder!"

"Uh... run that last one by me again?" I blinked.

"His brain was in his tongue, dude!" Mikey stuck out his tongue and pointed at it as a demonstration. "Casey, April, Donnie, and Raph fought it in the Turtle Mech. He ate me, but then I escaped and he exploded and it rained monster parts for entire blocks!" He paused, then reached over to pat me on the head. "You were cool in that fight too!"

Indulging him, I snuggled in close and gestured for him to tell the story, which he did with great flourish. The story grew interesting, to say the least, and I wondered how much of it actually happened, and how much was the pain meds Donnie had shoveled into him. But finally the sleeping pill began to kick in, and he began nodding off near the end. I had to lunge forward to catch the ice cream bowl before it slipped off his plastron as he dozed off.

Smiling fondly, I slid off the bed, adjusted his pillow and pulled the blanket up over my Orange Shadow, making sure he was comfortable and warm and planning on letting him sleep. Then I paused and lightly traced the bandage on his cheek. Swallowing hard, I pressed my face against his sleeping forehead and took comfort in his breathing and warmth for a few minutes, before exhaling and wandering out to sit on the couch.

A large black cat jumped up and meowed at me. I sighed, and pulled Fearless up close in a hug.

My family got hurt tonight.

I felt so useless.

I felt a red aura moving up behind me, and I looked up to see Raph walking up, cleaned up now with a few bandages on the worst of his scratches. He wordlessly bent down and scooped both me and Fearless up, and plopped down on the couch himself, setting us on top of him. He reached over to grab the remote and flip the TV on while Fearless curled up in the crook of his arm, purring.

"Feeling better?" I asked, adjusting myself to setting against his plastron more comfortably.

He just gave a noncommital noise and shrugged. He flipped through the channels in silence for a while.

I watched him, starting to feel a little drowsy now that I was wrapped in a comforting red aura. It was getting late, and it had been an emotionally exhausting evening.

Keeping his eyes on the TV, Raph muttered, "I shouldn't have yelled at ya back there, Leo."

I smirked and glanced up at him. "Sensei get after you for your language around us vulnerable children types?"

He coughed. "Maybe?"

I chuckled and leaned against him. "Honestly, by this point, I almost consider 'Eff you, Leo' a phrase of endearment from you."

He gave an amused smirk and reached up with the remote hand (as the other one was pinned by a cat) and ruffled my hair fondly. Then the smile faded, and he looked away again. He then sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "Still shouldn't have sworn at you like that, though."

I was quiet for a moment, then reached up and patted him on the snout. "Love you too, Raph." I murmured as I leaned my face against his warm, hard plastron.

He didn't say anything for a long moment, then, settling on some old gameshow channel, he set the remote down, settled back, and carefully draped his arm over me.

We watched TV together for a while in silence, and eventually I felt myself drift off to sleep, warm and safe in his arms. I was awakened again what I assumed were a few hours later, when his phone rang. It was Casey, groggily reassuring us that he was okay, and promising me that his cast on his leg actually looked really cool, it wasn't the first time he's had one, and telling me that I would have to sign it later. Hearing his voice set my heart at ease a little, though I still didn't like the thought of him being in the hospital. Raph looked relieved as well.

Once the call was done, Raph carefully got up and carried me to my bed. It was late, and I didn't complain as he tucked me in, settling in under the warm blankets and happily drifting back off as he carefully stroked my thick hair out of my face.

When he was apparently convinced I was asleep again, he backed out of the room quietly, carefully closed the door, and stood there for a long moment.

Then I felt it as his red aura turned away, and he moved across the lair and walked out through the turnstiles, heading out.

He was leaving.

My jaw tightened, and my blue eyes opened and narrowed.

Then I sat up, my blanket sliding off, and reached over to grab my blue mask laying on the bedside table, next to my sheathed butterfly swords.

I would protect my Shadows.

Always.

* * *

~ _To be continued_

* * *

 **Author Notes:** _In the show, Leo's rebellious teenage years led to incidents like him charging out to tackle an entire Triceraton fleet single handed, only to get his ship blown up, his space helmet cracked, and thus he almost suffocated out in space and his brothers had to use an AED to bring him back._

 _Yup! Good times ahead!_


	7. My Brother, My Shadow: Part Two

**Author Notes:** _Well, this took longer to post then I thought. I was certain I would have it up in just a few days, but first I ended up having to help a family member move over a thousand miles away when they weren't quite packed up yet, and then I got super sick for a few days. Bleh. But I'm feeling better now, and finally pounded out the last bit for this. It... didn't go quite as I expected, it was longer then I wanted it to be, and it might be a little more emotionally chaotic then I expected (Raph especially wasn't cooperating), but, eh, while I'm thinking that it's not my best chapter, I'm okay with how it turned out, so I'll post it as is. I'm really getting the bug to continue my Clan of Hamatos story, as well as possibly another story that deals with alternate universes that I want to get done before the new series comes out, so I want to keep writing, instead of wringing my hands over imperfections in story flow that more then likely only I notice._

* * *

The sky was clouded over and heavy with thick, low clouds, blotting out even the moonlight in this midnight hour. Near the docks, only outdated street lights occasionally beamed down light from half decayed wooden poles, and the sound of inky black water could be heard breaking up against concrete shores.

I was crouched down low next to an old rusted metal power box on top of the roof of an old brick warehouse. Dressed in my black sweatpants and tshirt that I usually used for sleepwear, I was next to invisible in the shadows. The tails of my blue mask shifted slightly in the breeze, the only movement I made as I surveyed the scene below me.

Down below, visible through the broken and rotted roof of the old dilapidated warehouse, several Purple Dragons were huddled close together and talking in low voices around a table, dressed up in nicer clothing then most of the gang members we usually fought. Obviously these men and women were higher up on the underworld food chain. And one muscled man with sharp clothing, wearing gold chains and aviator sunglasses, oozed of authority. That must have been Hun.

Tasty bait for a turtle trap indeed.

To give my Red Shadow credit, he obviously knew what he was doing. He hadn't just charged in with sais drawn, like I had feared he would, and instead kept to the shadows and first scouted out the situation. The Purple Dragons had apparently kept several groups of men hidden in buildings and alleyways, waiting to rush in at a signal, and with all the silence and patience of a hunting cat, Raph slipped in and silenced them as only a highly skilled ninja could, leaving the others completely unaware of their companions's peril. Heck, a few times, I was able to figure out what was happening only because I was able to sense his aura, which currently smoldered like barely contained embers just begging to explode into an inferno.

My eyes narrowed as I looked across the rooftops just below my position, out of my Red Brother's sight. Five men lay scattered, half hidden in shadows and waiting in silence with long-barreled rifles.

Snipers. Hun was obviously taking no chances, and had added extra layers to this trap.

But that was why I was here.

My mind inadvertently wandered back to that day two years ago, when I had finally found my brothers once more. I had little to no training back then, relying almost completely on instincts, mostly forgotten memories, and a ragtag book I had found in a library book sale once. If Raph hadn't saved me when he did that day from those gang member, I would have been badly beaten, if not outright killed.

But I had learned and remembered so much since then. I had been training. I had weapons and the tools of a ninja once more. I was so much stronger now then I had been back then.

I narrowed my eyes and carefully studied the five adult men with guns, then, after a moment, silently nodded to myself as I touched my blue bandana.

I could take them on.

I could protect my brother...

* * *

Copying the tactics of my brother down below, I stealthily slipped forward and started taking out the snipers one by one, using pressure points and the shadows to take them down quietly without alerting the others. I had managed to take out two, and was debating on how to quietly take out the next one, when, all of a sudden, there was yelling and the sounds of chaos down below.

Raph, apparently satisfied that he had cleared out the ambushers lurking in the dark, had turned his attention to the main targets, and burst out of the shadows, slamming down from the top of the warehouse into the middle of the gang leaders.

The main event had begun.

Now out of time for any more stealthy takedowns, I instead ran through the shadows and leapt out, throwing myself onto the back of the closest sniper, a grizzled and scarred bald man with a cigarette dangling out of his mouth as he took aim down the barrel of his gun as my brother below, catching him completely by surprise as I slammed my knee hard into his kidney and knocked him breathless to the ground. His rifle flew out of his hands to fall off the building to the ground far below, and safely out of his reach. Having stopped him for the moment, I quickly reached down to my utility belt and grabbed a smoke bomb in each hand and twisted about, sending them flying towards two different targets.

The other two remaining snipers yelped in surprise, jumping back and then coughing as grey smoke flashed and billowed before both of them, obscuring their vision. Knowing that the distraction would only last a few seconds, I turned my attention quickly back to Bald Sniper before me, as he was already pushing himself up off the ground, spitting out a few curses and grabbing for a smaller handgun at his waist.

I spun about with a kick, catching him across the cheek, and used the momentum to swing myself up over his shoulder and landed on his back with my knee right between his shoulder blades, knocking him prone once more. The gun skid out of his grasp, and I skidded forward and caught it up with my foot, catching it midair and kicking it far off into the night's shadows where he couldn't find it. He swore even louder, and rolled over, swinging with a fist as he did so, but I had leapt back and was already dancing nimbly back out of reach. He rolled up to his feet, grabbing a hold of a metal pipe as he did so.

By this point, Sniper Two, a young punk with pin straight and greasy blonde hair, was running up to help, wiping tears from his stinging eyes even as he pulled a switchblade. He wasn't the one that concerned me, though. I noticed that Sniper Three, face hidden by a ski mask, was standing up and had his rifle in hand, staring down the eyepiece at the chaos below.

No! He would NOT hurt my brother!

A shuriken flew out and embedded itself deep in the back of his hand, and he screamed in pain, dropping his rifle.

Down below, I felt my Red Shadow's aura spike, quickly shifting from a fierce tempest of confident rage to... fear? That confused me for a second. Raph was almost never scared of anything in battle. Heck, if anything, unexpected enemies usually angered him. Why was he...?

Ah. He must have figured out that I was up here.

Well, he just needed to concentrate on the fight he had started down there. I had the rooftops under control. I dodged another swing of the metal pipe and drew both of my swords.

It was like a dance I had waltzed through a hundred times before, a chaotic yet captivating rhythm of singing blades and feather-light steps, all moving in to the tune of blood rushing through my veins and a steady heartbeat. Seconds seemed to stretch into hours, as I agilely weaved between the attacks coming in from two directions now. Duck below that swing of the fist and hook my foot behind his ankle, kicking hard and sending him stumbling away. Twist around to avoid the slash of the knife and leap to the side to swing my own sword at his hip, causing him to flail away, then tuck and roll to dodge the pipe Sniper Two was using as a club to swing at my head.

There! An opening! I flipped my butterfly sword around and took the opportunity the moment it opened to slam the metal hilt against Bald Sniper's head, dropping him like a sack of flour. This left me a little exposed to Blonde Sniper, who was bringing the switchknife across again, so I instinctively reacted, twisting so my back was to him. All I needed to do was block it, and then I would...

A fiery, searing pain burned its way across my back as the knife slashed through the thin black cloth of my shirt and gouged across my back. I yelped in pain and leaped back, stumbling a bit.

Ow. Owow _OW_! Dammit, that really, REALLY hurt!

I was such an idiot! Why on earth did my instincts tell me to try to block it with my bare back?! What was I thinking?!

But then the very instincts that I was currently berating quickly saved me, as my intuition suddenly screamed at me to dodge, and I quickly threw myself to the side, ignoring the pain of my back for the moment. And it was just in time, as the crack of a rifle shot split the night air and the brick wall right behind where I had just been exploded into red dust. Ski Mask had apparently gotten back into the game.

Right. I had a fight to win. There would be time to inwardly criticize my stupid tactical choices later. The injury to my back was merely painful, and wasn't bad enough to actual affect my combat abilities. I could still do this.

Blondie was rushing at me, the now-bloodied switchblade ready to slash down again, and I sheathed one of my swords as I ducked under it, then jabbed a finger hard and fast into the underside of his arm. He shrieked in pain as pressure points were hit, then I had him by the wrist, twisting it around with a sickening cracking noise, and his scream rose a few octaves as he dropped the knife from nerveless fingers, and it clattered to the rooftop. The Purple Dragon fell from my grasp to the ground, clutching at his now-broken arm and rolled around in agony.

I quickly kicked the abandoned switchblade over the building's edge, far out of his reach just in case he decided he wasn't done, though I very much doubted he'd try anything else. He looked pretty beaten, and was already crawling off, ready to run once he could get his feet back under him. I darted past him and slipped around a corner, back into the shadows and out of sight of Ski Mask, who still had his gun.

There was another crack of the rifle, and the screech of metal as an air conditioning unit several yards away from me suddenly crumpled a bit, a bullet hole now in its side. A few pigeons flew off in a panic, and Ski Mask swore loudly, shaking his hand now wrapped in a blood soaked bandana. He grabbed his rifle again and lurched forward, clutching it tightly and at the ready as he glared into the shadows, eyes narrowed and darting around, searching. "Where are you, you fucking brat?! I'm going to make you pay for this!"

I crouched down on top of a wooden water tower ladder, watching him through my blue mask. I was confident that he couldn't see me up here deep in the night's gloom, and like a small hunter, I patiently waited for him to get closer.

I would have to get that gun away from him. If I struck first at that, knocking it clear, and then cracked him across the chin while he was still caught off guard, I could maybe...

A gigantic armored bulk of red and green slammed into him full force at a breakneck speed, carrying him across the rooftop with all the power of a freight train to crunch against a wall.

Oh. Red Brother must have finished up with his business already and came up to join me. Neat.

Raph's aura was chaotic and intense, like red flames burning out of control as he held the stunned and battered sniper up against the wall, the metal of his sai catching a bit of the streetlight from below and flashing as it arched through the air.

"Raph!" I yelped, leaping out of my hiding spot and reaching out towards him.

The sai paused, and Raph's electric green eyes darted to me for just a second, a dozen emotions running through them at once. Then he snarled and shoved the Purple Dragon back up against the wall again, hard. His sai spun in his hand, streaked forward, and the Purple Dragon gave a terrified yelp and cringed as brick shattered into dust only an inch from his cheek.

Raph stood there a second, breathing heavily with his sai embedded deeply into the wall next to the sniper's face. Ski Mask slowly opened his eyes, obviously surprised he wasn't dead, then his eyes widened when he saw just how close it came.

"Consider this your lucky day." Raph snarled right in his face. "Next time you won't get a second chance. Understand?"

The terrified man nodded rapidly.

Raph dropped him roughly on the ground, and gestured meaningfully towards the roof access door. The man didn't need a second invitation, scrambling to his feet and running with all the speed he could muster.

As soon as he was gone, Raph turned to me, eyes narrowed and breathing heavily with nostrils flaring.

I crossed my arms and tried to act like I wasn't bothered. "Oh, don't look at me like that. I stated very clearly what my intentions were." I said matter of factly. "If you went out, so was I, so here I am."

"The _FUCK_ , Leo?!" Raph exploded furiously. "You're a fucking kid! You don't just charge in on ADULTS with GUNS!"

"Hey, I'm only a few years younger then when we first took on the Kraang and Shredder!" I reminded him sharply. "And those ADULTS with GUNS were going to SNIPE you because it was a TRAP just like we were telling you it was!"

"I was handling things just fine!" Raph snarled in my face.

"If I hadn't stopped them, they would have killed you!" I snarled right back.

"We're going home right now!" Raph grabbed my shoulder. "I swear Leo! I'm going to..." His hand unintentionally pressed on the cut on my back, and I couldn't help but slightly jerk away with a wince of pain. His ranted ended, trailing off when he noticed that. Then, slowly, he lifted his hand up, and in the faint glow of the streetlights below, he could see dark red blood staining his green fingers.

His face went completely blank.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. It's just a..." I started to quickly say, but he grabbed me almost in a panic, and quickly twisted me about to see.

My shirt was sliced open, dangling down a little and plastered against my skin, wet with blood. There was a long cut going from the top of my left shoulder and slanting down to my right side, just under my arm.

"It's not deep, Raph." I glanced over my shoulder at him, trying to reassure him. "It's just a small cut. I'll be fine."

His face was still strangely blank, devoid of any emotion. Without a word, and with his eyes never leaving my back, his hand began to slowly drift down his side, where his fingers searched around for a second, before finally moving to shakily press the emergency distress button on his tPhone.

"Raph, wait, no!" I noticed what he was doing too late and twisted to try and stop him, but stopped sharply and hissed at the pain that flared up at the movement. I quickly shook it off and glared up at him. "It's not an emergency! It's just a scratch! You're only going to freak everybody out unnecessarily!"

He didn't say anything, but just stood there staring at me vacantly.

"Uh, Raph?" I waved a hand in front of his face, concerned. "Are you okay?"

His red-blinking tPhone, still attached to his belt, started to ring urgently, but he made no move to acknowledge it, much less answer it, his blank green eyes still fixed on me.

I gave him a worried look, and reached over to take the large phone off his belt, pressing the button to answer it and holding it up to my ear.

"Raph!" Donnie's breathless voice answered. "We got your signal. What's going on?!"

"Uh... hey Donnie. It's me." I answered, looking up at Raph worriedly.

" _Leo_?!" Donnie obviously wasn't expecting my voice, and suddenly there was a bit more panic in his tone. "What's going on?! Why do you have Raph's phone? Did you push the alarm?! Where's Raph?! Is he okay?!"

"Uh... Raph set off the alarm. We're not in any immediate danger, but... uh... I think Raph's mentally checked out?"

I had hoped that bringing attention to his behavior would at least snap him out of this and into a more natural huffy state, but he didn't respond to my comment in any way, not even shifting his eyes to look up at my face, which made me all the more worried.

"What do you mean? What happened? Are you okay? Are you in danger?" April asked, obviously on her own phone. Donnie must have set them up so it would turn into a multi-person call when responding to an emergency.

"We're fine." I glanced around. "Raph decided to try to go after the Purple Dragons after all, and..."

"He _what_?!" Donnie sounded furious.

"Leo... please tell me you didn't sneak out after him..." April groaned.

"I told him I would, sensei! I had to!" I protested. "And it was a trap, just like we thought it would be, but I managed to sneak up on the snipers. Raph handled Hun and the others down below, and I managed just fine up on the rooftops. There were only a few of them, and I am a trained ninja, after all. And we're not currently in any danger, all of the Purple Dragons seem to have been driven off. Like I said, Raph's not hurt, though he's acting weird."

"What about you, Leo? Are you hurt?" Donnie demanded.

"I'm fine. I only took a small scratch on my back." I said defensively. "I'm more worried about Raph right now. He's not acting..."

"You... what? How bad of a scratch is it?" Donnie interrupted me, sounding concerned. "Leo. Tell me exactly how you were hurt."

I winced. How could I say this without it sounding really bad? "It's not deep or serious, just a cut. One of the Purple Dragons had a small blade, little more then a pocket knife, really, and..."

"He stabbed you?!"Donnie's voice cracked a few octaves.

"What? No, he..."

"Okay, I just woke up and realized that I was alone in the lair and saw the emergency alarm was going on my tPhone and turned it on to hear that LEO GOT STABBED WITH A _KNIFE_?!" Mikey's voice jumped in, panicked.

"No!" I grabbed the phone in both hands, pressing it against my face as I quickly tried to reassure him. "Not stabbed, just a cut across my back! Little more then a scratch!"

"Like... how big of a knife 'scratch' are we talking about here?" Donnie fiercely demanded.

"Uh... not that big? Just across my back. And it's not deep!"

"Leo, when you say it's across your back... do you mean the cut goes all the way across your whole back?" April asked a little too calmly.

"Er... define what you mean when you say 'all the way'."

"Leo..." My sensei's voice was calm and dangerous and plainly stated that I needed to stop trying to dance around the truth.

"It goes from my left shoulder and down diagonally to my right side." I sighed in resignation, but quickly added. "But it's not deep!" And it hurt like crazy, but I wasn't going to tell them that.

"Leo! That's not a small scratch!" April's facade of calm was cracking.

"Are you bleeding?!" Donnie was beginning to panic as well.

"Uh..." The whole back of my shirt was wet, warm, and clinging uncomfortably to my skin. "A little? It's not serious, though!"

"DUDES!"Mikey was obviously panicking. "LEO GOT STABBED! Hang on, I'm coming over too!"

" _No_!" both Donnie and I echoed at the same time.

"We're almost at their location now, Mikey." Donnie said, and from the background noises, it sounded like they had parked the Shellraiser and were starting to get out. "You're injured yourself, and I don't want to have to re-patch you up because you pushed yourself too hard."

"But..."

"Mikey, we'll be home soon." I hurriedly wracking my brain for some tasks he could do without aggravating his injuries. "If you really want to help, then why don't you grab another shirt for me out of the top drawer in my dresser, this one is a little ruined now. And bring some pillows and blankets out to the couch." I had a feeling that if any sleep was going to be had tonight, then it was going to be in the middle of a protective turtle pile, and if that was going to happen, we might as well be comfortable. Oh! Wait, tea! Oh, gods, could I use some tea right now. "Also, could you put some water on to boil?"

"Right! Right. Can do, Leo." Mikey exhaled. "Please be okay."

"I am. I promise." I told him gently through the phone, then I looked up as I heard running footsteps quickly approaching. "Donnie and April are here. We'll all be home in a little bit."

I had barely finished my reassurances to my Orange Shadow back home, then Purple Shadow was there on top of me, grabbing me and quickly moving behind me to kneel and get a look at the injury. He gave a sharp hiss through his teeth as he saw it, eyes widening. "Oh, Leo...!"

"It's not deep." I argued, twisting my head to look at him back over my shoulder, then glanced back up at Raph, who still staring at me blankly.

April had come over and looked as well, and she exhaled in relief, though her face was still pale. "He's right. It's a long cut, but it's not serious." I tried not to wince or show any discomfort as she lightly examined it. "It looks like the bleeding is already starting to slow down."

"Do you think we should take him to the hospital?" Donnie looked up to her, worried. "Just in case?"

She frowned. "They would have more knowledge and equipment for dealing with these types of wounds."

I stiffened, and quickly pulled away. "No! No hospitals!"

Hospitals were places where they would experiment on and dissect mutant turtles. They were sterile and white and smelled of antiseptic cleaners, and all of my old turtle instincts told me that they were definitely not safe places to be.

Hospitals were places where all sorts of authorities gathered, and if they dug too far or noticed something amiss in my story, they could recognize me as Peter Eastman, a runaway child from the foster system, and try to take me away from everything that I held dear.

Hospitals were places where you watched as they wheeled your unconscious grandfather away on a stretcher through swinging double doors, covered in wires and tubes and surrounded by frantic nurses and doctors, and you'd wait and wait in those uncomfortable padded chairs meant for adults and not six year old children, and all the while nurses would give you sad and pitying looks as they walked by. But no matter how long you watched those doors, he'd never come back out again, ever. And then you got put in a small back room to wait, and after a long time a stranger comes in, and though she tried to be gentle, there's just no good way to tell a six year old child that their grandfather was dead, and that your own mother didn't want you anymore, that she wasn't even going to come down to see you one last time to say goodbye. And then there was more waiting while sitting on chairs that were too big, listening quietly while phone calls were being made, trying to find an open bed somewhere so that at least you'd have a place to sleep, because nobody had room for you, and nobody wanted you, and...

A giant three fingered hand clutched my uninjured shoulder protectively.

"Leo ain't going to no stinking human hospital, Donnie." Raph growled.

I blinked, shaken out of my panic, and looked up at him, surprised and relieved to see the light back in his eyes. Apparently, he had sensed my distress, and that was enough for him to reboot from whatever defensive mental shutdown his brain had enacted before. But his eyes were now guarded and completely avoided my gaze.

"Right. No hospitals unless we absolutely have to." April looked at me worriedly.

I felt slightly embarrassed for momentarily letting my emotions get the better of me, and crossed my arms, looking away. "I'm fine."

Donnie nodded and straightened up and looked towards the fire escape they had just climbed up on. "Let's get him in the Shellraiser, apply some pressure, and then we'll get a better look at it when we get back home in the light and with proper equipment."

* * *

We walked through the turnstiles, and the vocal complaints I was currently making about over-reactions to my injury died in my throat as we all stared. Every pot, pan, kettle, bucket, bowl, cups, and anything else in the lair that was capable of holding hot water was strewn about, covering the table, counters, and floors, filled to the brim with hot water and filling the whole lair with a sauna-like, steamy atmosphere.

"Uh... Mikey?" Donnie asked unsurely.

"You're back!" Mikey popped out from the cleaning closet, clutching another bucket. He dropped it and bounded over, injured leg and all, to grab my face. "Leo! You're still conscious! Where were you stabbed?! Are you bleeding out?! Dude, we need to get you to the exam room!"

"Mikey, I'm fine!" I pried his hands off of my face. "It's just a scratch!"

"Leo is going to be fine, Mikey." April reassured him with a hand on his arm, then she looked around. "But what's with... all that...?" She gestured towards the many, many gallons of steaming hot water.

"Leo asked me to boil water." Mikey figeted worriedly, not taking his concerned baby blue eyes off of me.

"I was thinking more of putting the kettle on, so I could have a cup of tea." I looked around, flabbergasted, as Donnie, completely undistracted by the trivial, continued carrying me back towards the exam room and all the medical equipment. How had he even boiled that much water in so short a time?

"Oh. Ooooooh." Mikey blinked as he and Raph followed us in. "I thought it was like one of those 'boil water because she's going in to labor' situations."

I sighed. "I am NOT going into labor, Mikey. I have a scratch. That's it."

Donnie carefully set me down on the examination table, and April quickly moved to cut my shirt away while he turned to pull out some plastic totes filled with gauze and other supplies, both working as a team.

"Wait, Leo." April glanced around at me as something obviously just occurred to her. "Did... did you forget that you don't have a shell anymore?"

My face reddened, and I crossed my arms and looked away huffily.

"Dude, really?" Mikey blinked. "You mean you were intentionally trying to block the knife attack with your back?!"

"When I get into situations like that, I end up relying a lot on instincts." I testily growled in my defense, a little embarrassed and hunched up as much as I could with April and Donnie working on my injured back.

"We're... going to have to work on that, I guess." April looked slightly disconcerted. How many sensei's had to worry about their pupils pulling memories from their past life having a completely different anatomy, after all?

Raph was quiet, standing there with his arms crossed, and then he stood up, turned, and without another word walked out of the lair.

Mikey sighed and reached for his crutches. "You two take care of Leo. I'll hobble after him."

* * *

So it turned out that the slice along my back wasn't, as I had insisted all along, terribly serious, and Mikey came back just as they were finishing up bandaging me enough to resemble a mummy from the waist up to state that Raph was just venting frustration in the forge room, set up deeper down the sewer where we created and repaired our weapons. Then, all the emergencies dealt with, both April and Donnie told me, in no uncertain terms, that I was grounded.

Thus, for the next few days I found myself stuck in the Lair, unable to go to school until I had healed up a little, and heaven forbid I tried to train or run through even the simplest katas. Sensei was watching me like a hawk, and she was quick to swoop in and drag me out of the dojo, by the ear if necessary. So I found myself with little to do but lay on my stomach on the couch, hanging out with Fearless, Mikey, and, thankfully, Casey, who finally came home with an impressive cast on his leg. Mikey had bought a large pack of markers just for the occasion, and Casey watched with a critical eye as Mikey doodled impressive looking fantastical creatures and I decorated it with elegant kanji meant to depict and promote healing, making sure that we didn't draw anything too 'girly'.

Deep down, though, throughout all this, I couldn't help but start to feel a streak of uncertainty and doubt as the days wore on.

Raph had hardly said two words to me since that night. He was rarely in the lair anymore, instead constantly going out and working hard in the forge, spending hours and hours hammering away at metal. At first I wasn't too worried, as Raph was obviously venting out some internal demons, and beating metal into submission was his go-to when a mere punching bag wasn't going to be enough.

But it had been nearly a week, and he still wouldn't look at me. In fact, he avoided almost everybody, and would leave the lair as soon as he was able to, giving anybody who asked barely more then a grunt and a dismissive wave as he left.

Was he having second thoughts about having a human for a brother? I had made a mistake and gotten injured as a frail human, when, if I had been a turtle, I would have been fine. Maybe he thought I was too weak now. Maybe... maybe he didn't want me anymore?

It made my chest ache to even think such thoughts. It was dumb, because deep down I knew that Raph was my brother and he would never permanently sever our bond. But I still couldn't help but start feeling a little anxious by his seemingly deliberate avoidance of me. I did my best to keep any uneasiness under control, and instead poured all my energy into helping Donnie in the lab, entertaining Mikey and Casey with video games and movies, and exasperating April by trying to sneak into the dojo for at least a little training.

And then, one evening, while I was sitting on the couch next to Mikey, eating popcorn and watching a movie, Raph came stomping back into the lair, covered in soot and ash, his large arms filled with a bundle of metal and cloth, which he unceremoniously dropped into my startled lap.

I blinked, taken completely by surprise, and lifted the bundle up, examining what he had exactly just dumped on me. I swallowed hard when I realized that it was a hand tailored gi about my size, made up of sturdy black cloth with beautifully crafted metal plates neatly and skillfully attached to protect all the most vital areas of the wearer, and especially heavily reinforced across the back with flexible but sturdy metal rings.

"There!" he snarled at me. "Now you can wear actual ARMOR when you insist on getting into fights like a civilized ninja, and not take on gang members in your fuckin' PAJAMAS, Leo!"

And with that, he roughly swatted me across the hair in what could almost be interpreted as a raw, fraternal gesture of affection, then gruffly turned and stomped off for the showers, wiping off some of the forge soot as he went.


	8. Lost and Found

**Lost and Found**

* * *

 **Leo: 13 years old**

The night air was cool and crisp, refreshing against the sweat on her skin as Karai leapt across the rooftops, keeping to the shadows. A throwing star whipped past her face, embedding itself deep in a wooden support beam of a water tower, and she cursed under her breath and quickly changed directions.

"Karai!" Shinigami panted, crouched up on a brick wall. Her long and straight black hair billowed ever so slightly around her arm as she leaned down with her hand extended, and Karai leapt up and caught it, using the momentum to swing herself up and over the wall.

Together they skimmed across the buildings of New York City. Just barely visible behind them, ominous shadows gave chase.

Damn those traitors in the Neo Foot! She led the true Foot Clan! Not them! How dare they rebel against her?!

"Have you been able to contact the turtles?" Shini panted as she glanced at her, her light gold eyes almost glowing catlike under her dark purple eyeshadow.

"I sent a message, but I'm not sure if it got through or not." Karai twisted about to send a few shurikens of her own flying behind her, covering their retreat over a particularly vulnerable stretch of roof for a few precious seconds. "My phone got hit, and is pretty damaged."

"Should we try to make for their territory, or head further into the city?" her black clad witch asked, darting up over a metal fence and across a large gap.

"I don't want to lead any danger up to their doorstep if they're not prepared." Karai leapt up to grab the fence as well. "We can probably lose them if-"

She was cut off abruptly as a Footbot lunged forward at her out of the shadows, blades shining in the pale light of the city around them. She swore and flipped up and over, still clinging to the chain link fence like a nimble spider and dodging the attack, but the force of the Footbot slamming into the chainlink fence sent it shaking violently.

Karai yelped, losing her balance and tumbling off towards the alleyway pavement six stories down!

"Karai!" Shini cried out, reaching for her but too far away to reach.

As agile as a cat, Karai tried to adjust herself midair so she would at least have a chance at trying to slow her fall, hoping to grab at a railing, clothesline, anything to keep her from crashing into the filthy pavement below.

But before she could blink, there was the jolt as something large crashed into her, and suddenly she found herself wrapped in a strong green arm and pressed against a hard, smooth plastron.

"Hey there, big sister!" Michelangelo beamed down at her as they swung in an arc on the chain of his kusarigama. "Nice to see you in the neighborhood!"

"Mikey!" she went limp with relief in his arms. "Oof, am I ever glad to see you!"

"Seems like you've brought quite a party along with you." He winked at her. "We'll catch up in a sec, gonna pass you off to Raph and go back for Shini."

Before she could ask, he suddenly tossed her through the air, and, using the momentum gained from their swinging arc, managed to get a few running steps across a nearby vertical brick wall while he retracted the chain, then sent it flying back out and was off again, back in the direction he had just come.

For the second time in just a few minutes that night, Karai found herself sailing through the air. This time, there was the roar of a motorcycle engine underneath as the driver raced across the street pavement to catch her, and almost expertly, she found herself landing on the black-leather covered shell of the largest turtle brother. She exhaled, then slipped down to seat herself behind him.

"You turtles really need to work on your transportation methods!" she had to raise her voice to be heard over the roaring wind, grinning as she clung tightly to the large turtle shell, her medium length, dual colored hair whipping behind her.

Raph glanced back at her from behind the visor of his red helmet. "Well, maybe if ya let us know in advance you were comin', we woulda had accommodations up to your princess standards ready!"

She laughed, and he revved the bike, the tires squealing as he quickly accelerated. Weaving almost effortlessly through the light traffic, it was only a few moments until they found themselves racing side by side with the ShellRaiser.

"Here's your stop." he yelled back at her. "I got Footbots to stomp."

"Shini?" she hollered back, worried.

Almost as if in answer, Mikey came flying from seemingly nowhere, touching down lightly on the speeding armored van as gracefully as if he were a large green cat landing on a stationary parked vehicle. Shini squealed with delight, arms around his neck as she clung to his shell.

"Turtle Shell Express, no better way to travel!" Mikey beamed at her, then, noticing Raph and his passenger down below, grinned and reached down to offer a three fingered hand to Karai below. "Want a hand, sis?"

Karai stood up on the seat behind Raph, and skillfully leapt up to grab the offered hand. "Thanks."

Once she was up safely on the Shellraiser roof, Raph gave a wave, and then with a roar of the engine, sped off. He was quickly joined by a familiar hockey-wielding human with a hockey mask-themed helmet on his own motorcycle, and they skillfully pulled side by side to bump fists, before splitting apart like wolves on a hunt.

"They're going to make sure the way is clear for us." Mikey explained, sheltering the two women from the strong headwinds caused by standing on a speeding vehicle with his shell as he moved over towards the hatch, opening it and gesturing in. "Ladies first?"

Karai gave him a fond scuffle on the head, and jumped in, Shini close behind.

She froze once inside the van at the sight that greeted her.

Contrary to her expectations, Donnie wasn't behind the wheel. The purple brother was actually manning his old station, surrounded by a half a dozen screens as he coaxed the complex computer system of the Shellraise to maximum efficiency.

No, behind the wheel sat a young human boy who looked to be only about eleven or twelve, handling the wheel of the Shellraiser with all the ease of a professional driver, even though they apparently had to install short extensions to the pedals so he could reach them. He looked to be of asian background, with thick black hair and a pair of butterfly swords strapped to his back. That there was a strange human child with the turtles was surprising enough. That Donnie was trusting this kid with his beloved Shellraiser was astonishing. But, by far, the most inexplicable thing of all was the blue bandana tied around his face.

What... Why would they...? How could they...? After what happened?!

She turned to Donnie, baffled as to who this child the turtles had apparently allied themselves with was, and why he was allowed to wear _that_ mask.

"Oh, that's right!" Mikey landed right behind her, reaching up to close the hatch behind him. "You guys don't know! Guess what?! Leo's back!"

" _WHAT_?!" Karai stiffened up, eyes wide in complete shock. Of all the things, that wasn't what she was expecting to hear. Was he actually suggesting that this... this CHILD was Leo?! That was ridiculous and insulting! How could they even believe for a second that...

But then the human child risked a quick glance her way, and she felt her heart almost lurch out of her chest.

Those blue eyes...

Those deep sapphire blue eyes...

It... it couldn't be...

"Karai! And Shinigami! I'm glad you're both alright!" the kid's whole face brightened in a heartachingly familiar smile when he saw her, before responsibly turning his attention to the road. "And I apologize if my presence is something of a shock. It's a long story. We'll explain more once we get you out of danger."

Mikey walked by to drape an arm across her slender shoulders, pulling her in close for a chummy hug against the side of his shell . "We wanted to tell you earlier then this, sis. Honestly! Why didn't we tell her again, Dee?" He glanced at Donnie with an eyeridge raised.

Donnie rolled his eyes, curled his index finger and held his hand to the side of his head in a mock phone. "I'm sorry, the number you have dialed is not available." he mimicked a ladies voice sarcastically. "I'm sorry, the number you had dialed is not available. I'm sorry, the number you have dialed in not available, because the owner is too busy trying to take on all the forces still loyal to the memory of Shredder by herself and won't accept her brothers' help!"

"And that's definitely something we're going to talk over later as well." the child they were calling Leo said through gritted teeth as he quickly yanked on the wheel to avoid a delivery truck, and they all hung on tightly as the Shellraiser swerved, then righted itself.

"Take a left up at Grover Street, Leo." Donnie tapped at the large touch screen mounted in front of him. "It looks like Raph has the way mostly cleared for us."

"Right." the human child nodded, then frowned when he noticed the Footbots standing in the street up ahead. "Hey, Donnie." he called back over his shoulder. "Can the Shellraiser handle mowing down a few Footbots?"

"Oh yeah, no problem. Go for it, Leo." Donnie waved absently, distracted by moving icons on his large screen.

"Okay. Cool."

 _Thump. Thump._

"Ooh, did you upgrade the shocks or something, Dee?" Mikey looked at the purple brother, impressed. "I barely even felt that!"

"Why, yes. Yes I did! I'm glad you noticed!" Donnie beamed proudly.

Karai could only stare numbly, in shock and completely unable to comprehend this new turn of events. No... It was impossible. This... this couldn't be him... He was dead. They had buried him at the farm, just like her father. How could her brothers do this to her?! After over a decade, it had just started to feel like her heart was starting to piece itself back together, and now... No... no, this couldn't be... She couldn't get her hopes up again, only to have her heart shattered once more. What were the turtles even thinking?! This was just a human kid! He would never be... could never be...

And then the blue masked human glanced her way again, and flashed her THAT smile.

That little half smile that was barely more then a slight curve of his mouth, but still somehow managed to reach his brilliant velvet blue eyes.

That smile that radiated confidence and warmth and home and family.

That smile that seemed to say, without a single word uttered, that she didn't need to worry, that everything was okay. That, even if the world around them was chaotic and cruel and falling apart and there was no way it SHOULD be okay, HE was there, and as long as HE was there, things would somehow get better, because HE wouldn't let it end up any other way.

That single, slight smile that proved to her, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it was really, truly _HIM_.

And before she was even aware of it, she was moving.

"LEO! You're really back! You're really back!" she sobbed as she threw herself upon him, clinging to him tightly and afraid to let him go again.

"Ack!"

"Karai!" Donnie squeaked in horror, lunging forward out of his chair to try and pry her off. "Not while he's driving! _NOT WHILE HE'S DRIVING_!"

 _Thumpthumpthumpthump!_

"See, Donnie?" Mikey enthused, reaching out to steady Shinigami and unperturbed by the sudden screeching and wild swaying of the vehicle. "Those parked cars barely even slowed us down! A plus, my bro! Top notch upgrades!"

* * *

 _*Later, and back to Leo's POV*_

After dodging and destroying most Footbots and an embarrassingly high amount of collateral damage, we finally made it back at the Lair. Donnie immediately dragged Raph into the garage, muttering things under his breath and complaining about not only the singular tiny dent that had resulted of destroying a whole three blocks that he was going to have to buff out of armor the Shellraiser, but already calculating all the shards of mailboxes, garbage cans, and newspaper stands that he was going to have to pry out of the underbelly. April-sensei and Casey went out getting some groceries and supplies for our unexpected houseguests, and Shini instantly made friends with Fearless, and together she and Mikey went off to unleash their particular brands of chaos throughout the lair, my black cat contentedly coddled in the witch's arms.

Which left me and Karai alone, which I half suspected was intentional. I led her back to the dojo, and began setting the small table used for tea. She looked frazzled, and I figured she could use a cup or two to calm down.

"So..." Karai exhaled, before brushing some of her medium length black hair out of her face. She kept walking around the dojo, examining the decor as if she was afraid to actually look at me, lest she lose control and start crying once more. "You're really Leo. Our Leo."

"Yup." I set two cups on the table, and brought out the small box of tea leaves. I carefully poured hot water into each cup. "Sorry. This is... awkward, isn't it?"

"It's... I don't even know how to describe this! It's just... wow... I can hardly get my mind wrapped around it all." Karai stopped in front of the tree, and looked up at the branches. She carefully reached out and touched a leaf, then sighed and shook her head. "How is one even supposed to react to news like this? It just all sounds so... crazy. You're really back. You were reincarnated, but somehow you're still Leo, the same Leo who you were before, and you even remember things from your past life?"

"Yeah... some stuff, anyways. Not everything." I shrugged and sat down, then ran a hand through my hair awkwardly. "To be honest, I don't really understand it or how it happened myself. It's one of those things that we've just all kinda decided not to question too closely, you know? To quote Mikey, I'm basically 'Leo 2.0, now in Chibi form!'"

She gave a chuckle and shook her head at that, before sighing, straightening up and moving over to take her own seat, kneeling in a graceful seiza. She still avoided my gaze as she carefully picked up her cup, cradling it awkwardly, but not yet taking a drink. Then she asked quietly, "So... uh... Do... do you remember me at all?"

I exhaled slowly, and lowered my cup.

"It's okay if you don't!" she was quick to clarify, her shoulders rising just a little as she slumped, eyes still starting stubbornly at her tea. "I was just curious!"

"I... kinda do?" I glanced up at her, then sighed and looked back down at my cup. "I don't know. It's complicated. My brothers tell me all sorts of stories about my past life, including stories about you, and when I hear them, they sound really familiar, like they happened in a recurring dream that I forgot about. I don't know if I'm actually remembering things, or if I'm just imagining that I do because the stories they tell me just seem so real." I admitted.

Karai swallowed hard, still staring hard at the tea and not at me. "Makes sense, I guess. It's... it's more then I expected, anyways."

I thought for a moment, then shrugged. "I can tell you this for certain, though. You... look very familiar. Like, if we passed each other in a crowd back before, back when I hadn't met my brothers yet and I still didn't know who I really was, I probably wouldn't have known your name or who you were, but I still would've thought that you looked like somebody I should know. I look at you, and I see... family."

Karai stiffened up again and swallowed hard. "Oh."

I sighed and took a drink. "Like I said, it's complicated."

Karai was quiet, and then she finally glanced down at me, her golden brown eyes studying me with tearful curiosity and wonder. "What's it like? Being reborn as a human kid and all?"

With a groan, I set my cup down and ran my hand over my face. "Confusing. Very confusing." I admitted. "It's much better now that I'm with my brothers, and I know who I actually am and that I'm not crazy or anything, but things still gets a little muddled up." I held up a hand absently, wiggling and examining my five fingers, before holding the fingers together and moving to split them apart down the middle, making my hand look more like a mutant turtle's three fingered hand. "Sometimes things between my two lives seem to blur, so at usually inconvenient times I'll discover that knowledge I've taken for granted in this life are actually instead residual memories from my old one."

"And that's... bad?" Karai looked curious.

I snorted. "Back when I first found my brothers, I had never gone swimming before as a human. But, of course, in my previous life, I was a turtle. Ask my brothers how amused they were when I almost accidentally drowned myself because I forgot that I can't hold my breath for over twenty minutes anymore."

"Oh. Oh dear." Karai looked torn between giggling and sisterly concern. "Yeah, I can see where that might actually be a problem."

"Yeah. Took me ages after that to convince them that it wasn't going to happen again, and that I, Hamato Leonardo, was NOT going to wear those dumb inflatable arm floaties. Ever." I acted insulted by the very subject.

That definitely got a genuine laugh out of her. That made me smile, and I sat up and went back to drinking tea, before continuing. "The biggest thing, I think, is sometimes I feel like I should be an adult, but I'm obviously not. Donnie tried explaining it to me once, but apparently a kid's brain is wired different from a matured grown up's, and I think I'm more self aware of that fact then most kids would be. I'm more... impulsive, I guess, then I feel like I should be. I often find myself acting without thinking, and I'm more easily distracted. I also find my emotions are more intense and harder to control then I'd like, which is awkward sometimes."

"Oh dear, a Leonardo who actually lets people know how he feels inside instead of bottling it up?" Karai teased me gently, looking over me over her own cup good-naturedly as she finally began to drink as well. "How will we ever learn to cope with dealing with a real person instead of a stoic cardboard cutout?"

I chuckled, amused. "Okay, yeah. I don't think that my brothers mind that too much. In fact, Sensei seems to be encouraging it."

"Sensei?" Karai asked, eyebrow raised. "You mean April?"

I rubbed the back of my neck, looking sheepish. "Yeah. I still have to relearn a lot of stuff, and Sens... I mean April agreed to teach me back before I knew who I really was. I adopted her as my Sensei then, and it just kinda stuck. My brothers seem to accept it, so I just keep calling her that, I guess." I paused, then looked up to her unsure, not certain as to how she felt about that. After all, it was the term I had once reserved for Master Splinter, our father, in my old life.

Karai slowly nodded. "It makes sense, though, if you think about it." She shrugged and smiled down at me. "Like you said, you're just a kid now, and you need to look up to a figure of authority, like a parental figure. But, knowing you, Leo, you still see yourself as a protective 'big brother' authority figure yourself when it comes to your brothers. So April was the natural choice to fill that role."

"Yeah. I guess so." I agreed absently, looking off to the side and sipping at my tea.

Karai spent a moment watching me wistfully, and then reached over to gently brush my hair aside. "If I had been around... maybe I could have been..." she trailed off, and pulled her hand away, turning aside. "Nevermind. Just thinking out loud."

I was quiet for a moment, then looked up at her and gave her a reassuring smile. "You would make a good Sensei, Karai."

She bit her lip and looked away, several emotions playing out at once on her face. "Thank you, Leo." she finally whispered. Then she cleared her throat and straightened up, trying to look nonchalant once more. "Maybe one day I'll look into that."

I nodded, and fingered my cup for a second, before finally asking the question that had been on my mind. "Why did you leave?"

Karai froze and swallowed hard, then carefully placed her cup back on the table.

"As long as I lead the Foot, the NeoFoot faction is going to fight against me." she growled out an explanation, balling her hands up into tight fists at her side. "I want to bring the Foot Clan back to the path of honor. They want to continue Shredder's legacy. I'm not going to let them. And it's MY choice to fight them over this, My burden, MY battle, MY war." She tilted her head back, eyes closed tight and jaw clenched, before giving a slow exhale and looking down to her hands, saying softly, "Why should the Hamato clan bear the scars for my troubles?"

"Karai..." I slowly put my cup down as well as I watched her. "You're family. Our sister. Your burdens are our burdens, and gladly shouldered."

Karai stiffened, then wrapped her arms around herself, looking away. "You don't understand. I... What happened to you... If I had..., then you never would have..." Her jaw clenched, and a tear slid down her cheek. She growled and wiped it away angrily. "I'm never going to let another brother die because I was too weak." she hissed fiercely.

And then I was there at her side, wrapping my arms tightly around her waist.

Her golden eyes widened.

"I'm here, Karai." I whispered.

Frozen in place, she only gave a strangled noise in the back of her throat, big tears bubbling up unbidden and flowing freely down her cheeks.

"You are not alone, Miwa." I muttered, my face pressed against her arm. "Not then, not now, and not ever. Don't forget that."

And with that, all pretenses of a tough front gave way, and the leader of the Foot clan collapsed to grab me tightly and cradle me close, burying her face in my hair and sobbing out all the years of guilt and pain and regrets and loneliness in gasping heaves of her chest.

I murmured quiet nonsense and rubbed the arms that clung to me, trying to comfort her as she rocked me and wept bitterly. A few times, I could sense colorful auras peek in on us, but then, assured that we were okay, they'd step back. Later, she would definitely be buried under a turtle pile, but for now, they seemed to sense as much as I did that what our sister needed more then anything at this moment was just to hold her once lost brother tightly and finally let go of her fears.

* * *

Eventually the heaving sobs slowed down to quiet, hiccuping gasps, and finally Karai gave a shudder and a hitched sigh, straightening up and wiping away at her soaking wet face. "I... I'm so sorry, L-Leo." she sputtered, her voice thick. "I don't... I don't know what... what came over m-me."

I reached down to pick up the kleenex box by my feet that a passing Purple Shadow had so thoughtfully slid across the dojo floor towards me, and pulled a tissue out to offer it up to her. "You don't have to apologize, Karai. You should have seen my brothers when they first found me."

"E-Even R-Raph?" she gave a shaky laugh as she took the offered kleenex and began trying to dry off her cheeks.

"Are you kidding? It's been three years, and I think he still tears up sometimes when he thinks I'm not looking." I gave her a conspiratorial wink as I pulled out several more tissues to offer.

She gave a congested snorting giggle, and blew her nose, before looking disgusted and reaching for more kleenexes. "Oh, gross. This is gross. Crying is gross."

"Like puking for the soul." I agreed, finally just handing her the whole box.

That got a genuine laugh out of her. "Spoken like a true thirteen year old boy." Then she made a face as she looked at me. "Oh, gods, your hair, Leo! I think I got... I'm so sorry!" She grabbed a fresh wad of kleenexes and began trying to wipe the dampness from my hair.

I tried not to imagine just what all was in there right now. Oh my god, there was probably snot in my hair! Ew! I shrugged. "Eh, I'm washable."

"Talk about letting it all out, huh?" Karai tried to joke, and I laughed. She reached over and tested the kettle of water I had brought out for our now-abandoned tea. By now, it had cooled down to lukewarm, so she just poured a little in a cup and dampened a cloth napkin, before scrubbing at my hair with it. After a moment, she said quietly, "Thank you, Leo."

I nodded seriously. "Anytime, sis." Then, deciding that my weary-looking sister needed a change of subject, I coughed and looked up at her, eyebrow raised playfully. "So... You and Shini? What's the scoop on that?"

Karai broke out in a surprised laugh, blushing a little. "Really Leo?! Really?"

"Hey, as a former fling of yours myself, I'm curious!"

"Oh. My. God." She buried her now beet red face in both hands, obviously flustered. "Don't phrase it like that! You're a kid now!"

"Oh, don't worry, I'm at that age where I'm still debating whether girls have cooties. You have nothing to worry about." I teased her happily. "So, does she make you happy?"

"Oh boy, how can we make this conversation any more awkward? I'm talking about my wife with my old flame who's now suddenly only a thirteen year old kid." Karai threw up her hands, then couldn't help but laugh and went back to scrubbing at my hair. "And to answer your question, yes. Yes she does."

I grinned widely, incredibly happy to hear that she was happy.

"And what about you, Leo?" Karai smirked, playfully fluffing my hair up. "You can't tell me that you don't have over half the school's girls following you around with puppy dog eyes. Not with that face!"

"Oh gods, don't even get me started on that!" I rolled my eyes.

"Did somebody mention Leo and girls?" As if summoned, Mikey leaned in to peek at us around the door frame.

"No! We're not going to talk about any girls, Mikey!" I turned to hiss at him defensively.

"They have a chart, Karai!" Shini popped up behind Mikey gleefully. "You have to come see it!"

"A chart?!" Karai perked up, interest peaked. "Really?"

"No!" I panicked, grabbing her arms. "There's nothing to see! No girls!"

"Wait, are we talking about Leo's Chart of Assessing Schoolmates and their Hypothetical Compatibility?" Donnie appeared to be casually walking by just in time to innocently overhear the conversation. The sneaky son of a...

"Really?" Karai asked with a wide grin, playing right into his evil three fingered hands willingly. "Wait. Are you telling me you guys made a chart to ship Leo with girls at school?!"

"No!" I whirled about. "We don't need to discuss the Chart!"

"Interested boys as well. Leo hasn't indicated any preferences as of yet, and we're not going to judge." Donnie shrugged.

"You guys!" I protested, red faced.

"Leo's old boss at the pet store he used to work at, Mai, has been helping us manage it. Turns out she's surprisingly enthusiastic about mutant turtles, and is now a new friend of ours! You two will definitely have to meet her." Mikey gleefully leaned against our sister, and waved a hand in an effort to beckon forth imagination. "You should see it, Karai! There's whole FACTIONS to keep track of! PonyTail's Posse, the Gamers, the Athletic Ones, the Theater Buffs, he's even got some of the cheerleading squad after him!"

"Okay, that's it!" I snapped, throwing up my hands and turning for the dojo doorway. "Going to go hide under the bed forever now!"

"Wait, is even Raph in on this?" Karai laughed, obviously highly amused.

"Am I in on what?" Raph was just walking in, scooping me up as I tried to make my escape and looked around curiously as he carried me back in.

"Leo's Chart of Romance." Shini adjusted Fearless, laughing.

"Oh, that." Raph snorted and shrugged. "Yeah, I figured I might as well. Mostly because it does this to Leo whenever we talk about it." He gestured to me as I sputtered and fumed in his arms, my face beet red and flustered death glares being shot everywhere. "Didja mention that he almost set off World War Three in that school when the fall dance came up?"

"Pictures! I have so many pictures to show you!" Mikey grabbed Karai and Shini. "I've been scrapbooking!"

Karai and Shini laughed, and we all followed him to admire the accursed chart and the scrapbooks he so lovingly labored over. Raph casually flipped me over his shoulder, and I growled and crossed my arms as I was carried, resigned to my fate.

As she passed us, Karai glanced up at me, and gave me a small smile, filled with some emotion that I couldn't quite read, except I could tell that she was happy about something. She reached up to brush some of my drying hair out of my face.

And, as flustered as I was feeling, I couldn't help returning the small smirk.

* * *

 **Author Notes:**

 _Awkward conversations for everyone! Yay!_

 _While mulling around in my brain, I do have a 'canon' way that Turtle!Leo died, I've been debating on whether to ever write it out or not. When I first planned this story out, I wanted to make it so if you ever read a sad 'death fic', you could just pretend that this was a follow up to it, and everybody ended up with a happily ever after, so I wanted to keep the circumstances of The Death fairly vague._

 _And yup, by this point, I've completely given up on consistent chapter lengths. Words will now land as they fall. That being said, the next chapter will be a direct follow up to this one, and will be either one super long chapter, or split up into two smaller ones._


	9. Of Honor And Respect: Part One

Leo- 13 Years Old  
 _Two weeks after meeting Karai_

* * *

"Hear ye, hear ye!" Casey Jones loudly announced as he stepped through the turnstile, catching everybody's attention. "Be all ye warned that this lair is about to be filled with high levels of teenage angst mixed with a heaping dose of righteous indignation!"

A balled up blue winter hat bounced off of his head, and he only laughed as I glared at him from where I was currently moping while draped over Donnie's head, carried on my purple shadow's strong shoulders.

Karai, Shinigami, Raph, and Mikey had been gathered around the giant stone block that made up the kitchen table, obviously they had been waiting for the school day to end as they sipped at soda, coffee and/or tea.

"Uh-oh." Mikey sounded a little amused as he straightened up from where he was leaning against the table, and walked over to greet us as we entered the lair. "Did you get in trouble again at school, Leo?"

"I have brought shame to the family name." I affirmed miserably, burying my face once more in the purple tails of Donnie's mask.

"Wait. Waitwaitwait." Karai put both of her hands on the table and leaned forward, looking shocked and delighted. "Again?! You're telling me that _Leo_ gets in trouble at school? Our Leo?!"

"Principal Williams is a power mad despot who abuses his authority to advance petty grudges." I growled into the purple fabric, not looking up "He is clearly out to get me."

"How bad is it this time?" Raph asked curiously, stepping over to fondly scuff my hair before carefully lifting me up off of Donnie's shell.

April had stepped around Donnie while shrugging off her coat to hang it up. She looked as if she were starting to get a headache as she fingered the bridge of her nose. "Bad." she admitted wearily. "Like, third strike level of bad."

"Shit. Really?" Raph looked surprised and a little concerned now as he set me down on the ground. They only gave out strikes for the more serious infractions. I could actually be expelled for this.

"I thought for sure that Williams was going to pop a blood vessel right there in the office, he was so mad." Casey added, though he sounded much more amused then April did. It had become custom for him to go along and provide support and back-up for April for such meetings. My turtle brothers couldn't attend school functions for obvious reasons.

"Wait, third strike?" Intrigued, Shinigami leaned back in her chair, stuck there because of the large black cat in her lap. "He already has two strikes?"

"I only claim responsibility for the first one." I tensely pulled off my coat, grumbling as I turned to stand on my tiptoes to hang it up next to sensei's on the rack. "I started a fight with a few bullies. Fighting is against the rules, and thus I deserved the punishment, even if my cause was just."

"The bullies tried jumping Leo later off school grounds with some of their friends." Raph smirked. "They leave him alone now."

"And I'll admit, Leo's second strike was kind of our fault." Donnie admitted, moving to the fridge to pull out some apples and celery. He set them on a clean cutting board and began deftly cutting them into snack-sized pieces with a sharp knife. "We forgot to inform the school that Leo has a pre-existing condition in which he should not interact with kitchen appliances of any make or model."

"He had a cooking class in Home-Ec." Mikey elaborated as he opened a cupboard and pulled out a jar of peanut butter. "It was pretty intense."

"We were making caramel apples!" I said defensively as I climbed up into my chair at the table. "There's no way that fire was my fault!"

"Ah." Karai blinked down at me, impressed. "Wow. So that's a curse transcends even lifetimes?"

"I would LOVE to learn what Leo did to offend somebody in a past life to earn such a powerful hex." Shini's eyes gleamed as she pet the purring cat in her lap absently.

"Thankfully, the emergency sprinklers did their job and put out the flames before there was any serious damage." Donnie came over and set the plate of uniformly cut apple slices and celery sticks in front of me. "April managed to convince them that Leo didn't do it on purpose, but he still got in pretty big trouble."

Mikey scooped out a large spoonful of chunky peanut butter out of the jar and plopped it on the plate next to the snacks, before sticking the spoon in his mouth as he screwed the plastic jar lid back on. "Tho 'ude. 'Ahd ya doo ish 'ime? 'Nudder 'ire?"

Since I was fluid in Mikey-Speak, I understood him. "No, it wasn't a fire this time, Mikey. I don't even know what I did this time that was so bad!" I let my head thunk down on the table in miserable exasperation. " I didn't break any rules that I knew of!"

April took the tea that Donnie offered her, and looked like she was just about to say something, but Casey quickly shushed her.

"No, wait, Apes." he patted his hands midair at her in a signal to hold the thought, a grin on his face that was far too amused for the situation at hand. "Let Leo explain it to his bros. Ten bucks says they're going to be as completely baffled as he is."

I lifted my head and glanced at April, but she just sighed and nodded at me, so I sat up and began to explain my side of the story."Okay, so I've been telling you about the Phy Ed testing they were planning on doing this week, right?"

"Yeah." Raph nodded with a shrug. "You've been obsessively training for it for weeks now."

"Training that was completely unnecessary, I might add." April muttered as she sipped at her tea with a resigned air. "It's a public school. The bar for physical education isn't set nearly as high as you ninja types seem to expect."

"Hush, I want to see where this leads." Karai was leaning forward, eyes sparkling as if she could already see where this was going and found it hilarious.

"Well," I continued, "we were all in the gym, and the teachers had split the class up into groups, with each group doing a different activity, like push ups or gymnastics. My particular group was tasked with the goal of tagging a strip of red cloth suspended up on the ceiling."

"Seems like a simple enough task." Donnie observed. He noticed I hadn't touched my snacks yet, and reached over to pointedly push the plate a little closer.

I took the hint and picked up a piece of celery, turning it over and frowning as I continued to think over the day's events. "I thought so too, but the teacher went on to say that this was one of the more difficult challenges, and most students weren't able finish it. He kept saying that we should only do as much as we felt comfortable with, and we not to push ourselves too far if we felt we couldn't do it."

"So there was a catch to this?" Raph looked curious. "What was the setup like?"

"That's the thing!" I waved the peanut butter covered celery stalk around. "There was already a rope hanging securely from the ceiling, right next to the red cloth!"

My brothers glanced at one another, then back at me, obviously confused by this scenario. In the back, Casey snickered a little.

"So wait..." Donnie frowned, trying to figure this out. "You were supposed to have this challenge to get to a goal up on the ceiling... but then they already had a rope leading right up to it?"

"Yes!" I was glad to see they were just as perplexed as I had been.

Donnie blinked, baffled. "But... Why? What's the point of the challenge if they're going to hand you the answer right away?"

"Was the rope greased?" Mikey wondered curiously.

"No. It even had knots tied in it at spaced intervals for easier climbing." I scoffed, leaning on one elbow and crunching the celery snack absently.

"Hm." Mikey frowned, tapping his chin with the spoon as he mulled it over,. "Why would they...?"

Raph sat back in his chair, deep in thought and also obviously trying to understand this scenario. "Were the other kids going to throw stuff at you as you climbed? Like rocks or knives or shurikens?" he finally ventured a guess, looking up. "Was it supposed to be a dodging exercise?"

"Nope." I shook my head. "There was a large, thick mat on the floor underneath in case you fell, and all the other kids were told to sit off to the side. Nobody was supposed to do anything except wait quietly for their turn."

"Huh."

My brothers all went back to trying to figure out the catch.

"Oh... my... god." April buried her face in her hands in apparent disbelief that some mysterious concept was apparently going over all of our heads.

Donnie frowned, eyes down in contemplation and tapping his chin thoughtfully with a knuckle. He finally lowered his hand and shook his head. "It's too easy and too obvious. It had to be a trap."

" _Thank you_!" I gestured at him with both hands in exasperation, glad that at least somebody understood. "That's exactly the conclusion I came to as well!"

April sighed. Casey broke out in a cackle.

"So...? What did you do?" Karai prompted, wanting to hear the rest.

"So I decided to ignore the rope completely." I explained, setting down an apple slice that I had just dipped in the peanut butter and using my hands to visually aid my descriptions. "Instead, I turned and ran up the bleachers, jumped and grabbed a hold of a large steel support beam set against the wall. I used that to shimmy up to the ceiling, and at that point, it was a simple matter of leaping up into the steel roof support beams that crisscrossed up there, and dashing across them to where the red flag was tied. Tagged it, and boom! Trial complete, right?"

"Seems reasonable." Raph reasoned after a moment's thought.

"That's what I thought!" I threw up my hands. "But no! Everybody started freaking out! Like, majorly freaking out!"

My brothers blinked in surprise.

"Uh... Why?" Mikey wondered.

"I. Don't. _Know_!" I lamented miserably. "But the teachers were really, really upset, and kept yelling up at me not to fall down, which, you know, is kinda obvious advice. One teacher started yelling to get the janitor to bring a ladder, a bunch of them were standing underneath me like they were ready to catch me if I fell, some of them were even talking about calling the cops and the fire department. They were all going crazy!" I looked at my brothers, who blinked back in bafflement, and I nodded. "I know, right?! So I quickly got the idea that they didn't want me up there and I had better get down, so I hopped across the rafters to the nearest basketball hoop, slid down the metal mount that attached it to the ceiling, and flipped off the backboard to land back on the floor, safe and sound. No problem, right?"

"And how did they take that?" Karai asked gleefully, exchanging knowing looks with Shini.

"Mrs. Templeston screamed and fainted." I slouched down on the table. "And then I got yelled at and dragged off to the principal's office again."

April groaned and ran her hands over her face, before explaining, "Leo, what you did was incredibly unsafe. Of course the teachers panicked!"

"How was it unsafe?" Mikey blinked at her, confused. "We do that sort of stuff all the time. Leo could've probably done it blindfolded and with one hand tied behind his back if he had to."

"At least then it would've actually been more of a proper challenge." Raph scoffed, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Most kids aren't highly trained ninjas!" April threw up her hands.

"So what was he supposed to do in this challenge?" Donnie frowned at April as he sat back in his chair, causing the reinforced metal to creak.

"Leo was supposed to just climb the rope to tag the flag." April threw up her hands, exasperated. "That's it! It's not that complicated"

"It... wasn't a trap?" I blinked at her, then looked at my brothers, who looked as surprised as I did.

She closed her eyes and fingered the bridge of her nose. "It's an elementary school, Leo. They're not going to trap anything!"

"So he was just supposed to climb a rope? That's it?" Raph looked at me, then April, as if trying to understand this strangely novel concept. "That's how he was supposed to pass the test?"

"Like I said, it's not that complicated, guys!" April groaned.

"But... why?" Donnie asked her, obviously mystified. "What's the point of asking somebody to complete a training exercise, but then add no challenge to it? What do the students learn from it?"

April put a hand on his arm and looked at him. "Donnie, my love, you and your brothers are VASTLY overestimating the physical fitness of the non-ninja human population."

"Man, human school is weird." Mikey wrinkled his nose.

"Tell me about it." I muttered, eating an apple slice.

Casey was leaning against the fridge, holding up his phone and filming this with a crazily amused grin plastered on his face.

I narrowed my eyes and growled. "And that's not even the worst of it! Principal Williams kept acting like I was purposefully misbehaving and lectured me about my behavior. He actually labeled me a 'Troubled Youth'!" I made air quotes around the offending phrase. "Me!"

"Oh my!" Karai tried to look serious as she looked at Shini. "Not our Leo!"

"So, are you suspended again?" Mikey cocked his head questioningly.

I snapped a celery stick in half angrily. "No. Worse."

April sighed. "Principal Williams gave us a choice. Leo can take the strike, and that's it. He's expelled. Or, he can complete an after school program aimed at 'At Risk Youths'."

"So brush off the ol' textbooks, Donnie, because I'm now going to be homeschooled." I narrowed my eyes stubbornly at the broken celery stick, before biting and chewing angrily.

"Leo, no." April gave me a look. "You only have to attend one evening class. That's it. You're not going to bail on school just because of your pride."

"What's the class?" Mikey asked curiously.

"Ha! Okay guys! Take a moment to think of the most ironic thing possible that Leo could possibly be asked to participate in." Casey announced gleefully, holding his phone so it was filming everybody's reaction, and stepped forward to hold up a pamphlet dramatically. "Imagining it? Okay, good. Now then, this beats even that."

He cleared his throat and read out theatrically, "Strength! Power! Courage! Respect! Join our family of thousands of students spanning the world! With over one hundred and fifty dojos worldwide, Bradford Dojos Inc have refined teaching martial arts into a true masterpiece of discipline! Jack Bradford, nephew of the legendary Chris Bradford, carries on the legacy in memory of his uncle's dream, and has dedicated his life to reaching out to the youth of the world who were once controlled by their emotions, and have now instead learned to control their destiny! Earn the Respect!"

"Bradford?!" Donnie sounded startled.

"Principal Williams said that if I was going to act like a 'kung fu maniac', I should learn how to do so properly from a 'real' martial art teacher." I said disdainfully, insulted by the choice of words.

"Chris Bradford had a nephew?" Raph took the colorfully printed paper from Casey, glanced over it, and raised an eyeridge. "Huh. Really?"

"I'm not doing it." I said flatly.

"Leo..." April sighed. "It won't be that bad, and it's just one class."

"It's a second rate chain dojo that treats martial arts as a one-size-fits-all cash cow." I was immensely offended by the very idea of this. "There's no respect for the ancient art or traditional customs, just a flashy circus with product placements, where they try to milk as much money they as they can from their students."

"Aw, come on. Perhaps this 'Jack Bradford' is nothing like Chris." Mikey was leaning on Raph's shell, reading over his shoulder. "I mean, think about it, poor guy. He probably never learned what actually happened to his uncle. As far as they know, he just disappeared mysteriously one day."

"Eh, it's sad, but it's actually for the best." Donnie shrugged, sipping at his coffee. "I don't think they would be comforted by knowing that Chris Bradford got mutated into a giant spiny dog, then mutated again into a skeletal dog, then drowned by a mutant alligator, then resurrected by a demon dragon god, then finally dragged clawing and screaming into the pits of hell itself."

"Yeah... that." Mikey reached over across Raph's face to point at something on the paper. "See? His nephew might be a good guy. It says here that Jack travels across the country and volunteers his time to mentor 'At Risk Youth', free of charge. That must be what you're being asked to do."

"I am **not** an 'At Risk Youth'!" I protested, throwing an apple slice at him. He caught it absently and ate it.

Karai was frowning, and leaned forward to take the pamphlet from Raph, reading it over herself. "Unfortunately, it's not all purely altruism, Mikey. This is an old tactic used by Bradford Dojos Inc to recruit promising young recruits to the Foot Clan."

"Wait. What?!" I snapped my head around to stare at her in horror. "You mean I'm going to be recruited into the Foot Clan now?!"

Karai paused and looked up at me, eyebrow raised. "You say that as if it's a bad thing."

"But I don't want to be a Foot grunt!" I wailed unhappily, slouching down on the table and covering my head miserably.

"Oh Leonardo, really!" Shini scoffed playfully. "You're sister runs the Foot Clan. You wouldn't be a mere grunt."

"Oh, he's leadership material for sure." Karai agreed, studying me thoughtfully. "I'd say Chuunin, even."

"Hey!" Donnie glared at them, putting an arm over me defensively. "Stop trying to recruit Leo into the Foot Clan!"

"Join us Leeeooo... Join the dark side!" Shini sang, a twinkle in here eyes. "We have the cooler outfits!"

"Hey, girl, there ain't no style that can compete with turtle style!" Mikey scoffed playfully, sticking out his tongue and flashing the 'Hang Loose' handsign.

"Leo ain't joining the Foot. He's Hamato clan." Raph grunted as he passed the flyer over to Donnie's waiting hands, and glanced at Karai. "So, should we be worried about this Jack Bradford?"

Karai frowned. "I don't know. I will admit that we've gotten a few recruits from him over the years, but I told him specifically that New York, Hamato Clan territory, was off limits." She glanced at Shini, then at April. "If it's okay, I'd like to accompany Leo to this class and scout this out. I want to make sure that he hasn't been secretly recruiting for the NeoFoot on the side."

"Hm. It says here that each student gets one adult chaperone for free. Additional tickets can be purchased at $25 each." Donnie observed, reading the fine print.

"Oh hell, then I'm going too!" Casey said enthusiastically, and turned to the orange turtle. "Mikey! You know what we need to do!"

Mikey pushed himself off of Raph's shell, an eager gleam in his eyes. "Heck yeah, bro! I have big cardboard pieces and fifty six colors of paint ready for just such occasions!"

"Wait... are we making signs to hold up in the crowd for Leo?" Shini put her hands on the table eagerly. "Oh, count me in!"

I groaned, letting my head thud against the table as I realized I had lost all control of the situation.

Donnie patted my arm. "Just think of it as a infiltration mission, Leo." he said comfortingly, then slid the partially eaten plate of snacks closer.

* * *

 **Author Notes:**

_Earlier, I mentioned that I probably wasn't going to be doing much with Leo's school. This chapter is probably a prime example why that needs to be so. I'm pulling from memories of my own school days, but that's decades past now. Is Home Ec even a thing anymore? And do they still have kids climb rope in P.E., or has it been banished as too dangerous?_


	10. Of Honor and Respect: Part Two

_A/N:_

 _Raaahgraaborgahhh!_

 _This wasn't supposed to take this long! But, after hitting more then 10k words and still going, (longer then any other chapter or one shot I've written), I decided to break it up, post a good chunk of it, and let you guys have at least that little tidbit while I continue to beat my head against the conclusion of this arc. So go ahead and enjoy both my pain, and Leo's._

* * *

 **Of Honor and Respect: Part Two**

* * *

"So who's ready for a night filled with awesome and education?!" Casey gleefully raised both eyebrows at me through the rearview mirror, grinning widely as he let go of the steering wheel of the parked Party Wagon and leaned back in the driver's seat. "I can see that Leo totally is!"

Sandwiched between Karai and Shini in the back seat, I slouched, arms crossed. "Let's just get this over with."

"Psh. Now is that the type of attitude to have, Leo?" Karai scoffed as she unbuckled and started getting out of the vehicle. "You should be excited! We're on a super secret ninja spy mission!"

"The signs are in the trunk, don't forget them!" Shini reminded them all. "Mikey requested that we hold that one up front and center!"

"Oh yes. Wave around the brightly painted signs covered in all the glitter." I sighed as I pushed my door open, slid out, and reached back in to grab my duffel bag. . "Because, y'know, 'Super Secret Ninja Spy Mission' after all."

"It's just two hours, Leo." April said comfortingly, patting me on the shoulder. "You just need to survive for two hours."

The cool night breeze wafting through the parking lot ruffled my hair, and I glanced over towards the well lit building with large letter proclaiming 'Bradford Dojos'. I could faintly sense three colorful auras touch down on the roof of the gym, and I exhaled slowly, eyeing the roof in hopes of catching maybe even a slight glimpse of them.

On one hand, it was extremely comforting to know that my brothers were going to be nearby and watching.

Buuut... on the other hand, they were my brothers and they were going to be watching, gleefully viewing every humiliating moment of the whole event on some HD screen that Donnie dragged along up there on that roof. I knew that they would all be enjoying themselves waaay too much at my expense. I was never going to hear the end of this.

The truck lid was pushed shut with a click, and, with the lovingly crafted squares of cardboard covered in paint and glitter tucked safely under Shini's arms. "'Super Secret Ninja Spy Mission Distraction Props' are ready to go!" she cheerfully chirped.

"Check and check! Alright, everybody ready?" Casey asked as he pressed the key fob and the modified volkswagon gave the 'I'm Locking!beep-beep' alert.

Karai grabbed my shoulders and answered before I could. "Of course! Let's get this party started!"

"Hurray. Can't wait." I muttered as I was ushered along reluctantly.

We wove between the rows of parked cars in the small parking lot lit by tall street lamps as we made our way towards the lights of the squat, cement square building. And then, as we rounded around a row of SUV's, I froze midstep and stared in horror and disbelief as the entrance came into full view.

No...

Were those really...?!

Yes! They were!

On either side of the entrance, there were really two actual inflatable waving tube guys flopping around with flailing arms, painted black with masks so they looked like tall, thin, wildly gesticulating ninjas.

I could only stare in disbelief at the tacky display.

Was this a dojo, or a shady used car sales lot?!

There was a sudden, momentary flash of brilliant white light that nearly blinded me, accompanied by a clicking sound effect.

I paused, and slowly turned to narrow my eyes at Casey.

"Sorry!" he apologized absently, glancing at his phone screen, and tapping at the screen. "Didn't realize it was dark enough out here to trigger the flash function on the cameraphone. I kinda promised Mikey, though."

"Mikey's hoping to create a photo collage with the footage we get tonight." Shini nodded in explanation, and then waved her hands across the air. "He's going to title it 'Leo's Faces of Offended Outrage'."

Casey paused for a second, noting the look on my face, and then brought up his phone and snapped another picture.

"Come on, Leo." April sighed with an air of tried patience, reaching down to put a hand on my back to usher me towards the door. "We still have to get you signed in."

I hoisted up the duffel strap further up on my shoulder and grudgingly followed her in, resigned and determined to get this night done and over with.

We walked between the tacky, flailing inflatable tube ninjas, and pushed open the two glass doors covered in a large decal of human Chris Bradford giving a high kick and a thumbs up, as well as several fliers detailing tour schedules and advertising new merchandise.

So yeah, we were only at the entrance to the building, and I was already regretting everything about this.

* * *

We stepped inside the building housing the dojo, and was greeted by the sight of a crowd of people milling around in the entrance area. To my relief, there wasn't a huge number of people, this was a demonstration and not an actual show, after all, and thus it seemed to mostly be local people, those curious to see some martial arts in action, and friends and family of the students, some more enthusiastic then others. It looked more like the crowd that would show up to a school sporting event then the fanbase of a celebrity.

I also quickly noted, with some distaste, that the entry room also, conveniently, doubled as a large, well stocked gift shop.

Because of course it would be.

On our way back to the ticket stand, we walked through shelves and racks filled with a wide variety of overpriced merchandise, where they were selling everything from shelves upon shelves of Bradford themed food and drink, to racks of branded clothing, to rows of action figures. There was Bradford Dojo tabi socks and gloves and padded armor and gi's, and even a wide variety of ninja weapons, both toy versions for kids and real (if poorly made) versions for students.

I noticed a bobble head Chris Bradford (shirtless with rippling pecs, of course) on a shelf, and paused to poke at it, watching the head wobble about with narrowed, judgmental blue eyes.

There was a camera click as Casey snapped another picture.

I turned my blue eyed glare towards him instead.

Ignoring my look, he lowered his phone and reached over to pick up the bobblehead, turning it over and examining it thoughtfully. "I should get one of these for Raph." He commented offhandedly. "I bet he'd get a kick out of it."

"Oh my gosh! Look, Karai!" Shinigami bent over to examine shelves of DVD and VHS tapes. She ran a hand over the titles, reading them off. "'McQuinn, the Lone Wolf', 'Firerunner', ha! They even have both Alpha Force One and Two here! Oh wow, do these bring back memories!"

Karai walked up next to her, and reached over to pick up one of the DVD cases, making a face. "Oh, how could I ever forget the long, painful nights he always called 'Cultural Education'." She made air quotes around the phrase, her nose wrinkled. "Recruits were always fighting over who got to go out on patrols those nights, they were always coming up with any excuse to get out of it."

"Hm." April was looking around, and pointed towards a staff member with a clipboard standing next to a doorframe, talking to a young teen with a green mohawk and what I assumed was his father. "Hey guys, I think that's where Leo and I are supposed to go."

Karai nodded, and put the DVD back as she glanced at the line formed at the ticket booth next to the double swinging doors to the gymnasium. "We'll go get in line for tickets while you get Leo checked in, April."

"Come on, let's go! I want to get seats front and center!" Shini eagerly grabbed Karai's hand, pulling her towards the line.

"Good luck, Leo!" Karai laughed as she followed her wife, Casey tagging along while scrolling through his phone screen with a wide grin on his face, probably texting pictures to my brothers.

I sighed and nodded to them as April gently herded me off to the check in station.

"Oh, I'm sorry, ma'am." the attendant glanced at her, then down at me. "The line for tickets is over there. This area is for tonight's guest students."

"Oh, yes, that's why we're here." April nodded, putting a hand on my shoulder. "This is Leonardo Hamato. He's from the Roosevelt Primary School, and was assigned to tonight's class."

The attendant looked at me and blinked, frowning, then back down at his clipboard. "Wait, are you certain? There must be some mistake. This program is only for sixth grade and up."

I folded my arms. "Well, unfortunately, it so happens that I am in sixth grade, so, alas, that statement doesn't exactly disqualify me."

The attendant looked between me and April, looking surprised and a little doubtful. "Are... are you sure? You look a little young."

"Yes, I am sure of which grade I am currently in, thank you." I sighed, fingers on the bridge of my nose. Why? Why did this always happen? "And, for your information, I'm thirteen."

"Is there paperwork or something I should be filling out here?" April wondered out loud, her eyebrow arching at the attendant.

"Oh! Uh, yes." The attendant cleared his throat and quickly put on a more professional face, glancing down at his clipboard. "Well, you are on the list, so after I see some form of ID, I'll need you to complete and sign these, please." He pulled out a few sheets of paper and handed them to her.

April glanced over the sheets, her lips pursed, and nodded. "I'm going to need a moment to read through all the fine print first."

The attendant gave a sigh, obviously realized that April was going to be one of _those_ mother types, and dutifully compared the driver's license and student ID handed to him against his checklist. "Of course, ma'am. They just need to be signed before the presentation begins. Let me know if you have any questions."

"I have one." I pulled out a piece of folded paper and held it up to him. "I need to get this signed for my school, to prove that I've been here. How do I get that done?"

"Ah." the attendant nodded. "Yes, don't worry. Master Bradford will sign that for you at the end of the class."

I paused, and eyed the man. "I don't suppose we can just skip the whole middle man, get it signed now, and just say that this whole thing happened?"

Both the attendant and April gave me a look.

"It was worth a try, at least." I sighed, slipping the paper back into my pocket.

"As I said, Master Bradford will sign it _after_ the program is complete." the attendant said firmly. "Now come on into the room please, we still need to get everybody else checked in as well."

* * *

We were led into a room that had a few folding chairs set up, as well as a table with cups of water and Bradford Dojo granola bars. There was also a row of lockers, and a few changing rooms in the back. As April sat off to the side and meticulously went over the sign in sheets, discreetly going over the details with Donnie, I assumed, to make sure nothing in there would compromise our clan, I went over to stand with the other kids in the waiting room.

"Alright, if everybody calms down, we'll begin." The attendant tried to get everybody's attention, comparing us to a clipboard. "I do believe that everybody is here now, so let me welcome you all to Bradford Dojo's Incorporated, where together we can learn to earn the respect. I will be going over the rules here, and then you'll each be given a complimentary official 'Future Bradford 2 Tuff Crew 2' uniform to wear tonight. Additional uniforms and accessories may be purchased at a discount after the program is over in the gift area, as well as brochures for the Bradford Dojo lesson plans. We hope you enjoy your time as part of the Bradford Dojo family, and hope you come away tonight feeling the respect!"

As the attendant went over the rules we were expected to follow tonight, I glanced around, clutching my bag to my chest. There seemed to be about nine other kids, varying in age from a girl who looked to be about my age, to a few that looked like they could even be seniors in high school. My fellow 'troubled youths', I supposed. Of course, I was the smallest, because that always seemed to be the way things went in my new life. I heard a few derisive coughs of 'shrimp' and 'runt', but, for the most part, the kids mulling around me were too excited to pay much attention to the small kid hanging in the back.

There were adults as well, parents and other family members. Some of them were well dressed, and others obviously came from rougher walks of life.

"Ah! Here are my students for tonight! Welcome! Welcome!" The attendant was interrupted as the doors to the waiting room swung open, and suddenly the room was filled with a confident and intense energy as a tall, broad chested man strode into the room.

This was a man who instantly attracted everybody's attention, and he not only knew that, but he reveled in the fact. He was flanked by two smartly dressed assistants who seemed to be constantly busy, talking into headsets, shuffling papers, and adjusting wires on the large man.

Even if I didn't exactly remember Chris Bradford from my past life, I had seen enough promotional material that I could instantly tell who this was.

Jack Bradford definitely bore a striking resemblance to his late uncle, though his face and build were a little more slender then the pictures and cutouts I had seen. He seemed to be trying to emulate his uncle as much as he could, his hair and beard were styled in the same manner, though his of a more reddish hue, and he even wore similar clothing, currently sporting a sleeveless shirt that showed off his muscled arms and chest. I noted that despite his cheesy Hollywood aura and outfit, he still moved with an easy and confident grace, obviously comfortable and in control.

"Sensei Bradford!" one of the students quickly moved up to him, stars in her eyes as she held out a small poster. "Could... could I get your autograph?! I plan to hang this up in my room!"

"Of course!" Jack flashed her a shiny white smile. "Tonight, you are all my students, and my students are always treated like VIPs!"

He held up a hand, and, taking the cue obediently, one of his attendant placed a permanent marker in his palm. He spun it with a flourish, and quickly went about writing some sort of inspirational message on the poster. I couldn't read it from here, but it was probably something to do with 'Respect' and all that nonsense. The other kids quickly began crowding around him, holding up books and photos and other things to sign, and he charismatically stopped to talk to each one of them.

"Hm." I heard the director muse, and I glanced up at her, noticing the way she was studying me. "This might be a problem. I don't think we have a uniform in your size."

"Oh, that's okay. I brought my own." I put my bag down on floor and pulled out the black and blue gi my brothers had made for me, showing it to her.

She glanced at it, bit her lip, then sighed in resignation. "Well, it's not the right color, and not official Bradford brand, but I suppose it will have to do. It's better then sending you out in an outfit too large."

"Oh, is this one of my students today as well?" I heard Bradford coming up behind me, and turned to see him kneel down to give me a winning wink. "And just what is your name, little warrior?"

I eyed him. Was he... patronizing me? I dutifully pointed at the obvious name sticker they had plastered on my chest at the door. "Leo."

"Ah, a little lion. Of course!" I grunted in surprise as Bradford threw an arm around me and turned us towards the photographer, beaming broadly as his photographer quickly snapped a couple of photos of us together. He held up his hand, and his assistant handed him a silver pen. "Well, I'm here to tell you that Bradford Dojos can mold fierce warriors out of even the smallest of cubs!" he smiled widely at me as he used the silver ink pen to autograph the sleeve of my gi that I was holding.

He got up, gave me a friendly ruffle of my dark black hair, leaving it sticking up everywhere, and went to talk to the next student.

I stared at the sprawling silver signature now prominently displayed on the blue sleeve of the gi that my brothers had made for me, then slowly turned to look up with big, mournful eyes at April, who had just finally handed in the papers and was just walking up to me.

She cleared her throat and leaned down to smooth my hair down comfortingly. "I'm sure it'll wash out." She covertly whispered in my ear understandingly.

* * *

So after Jack Bradford finally managed to get his fill of publicity photos while chatted with all the kids, he left to get ready, promising to see us all soon. We finished going over some final details, everybody changed into their uniforms, and then we were all escorted out of the locker room to the specially prepared 'Future Bradford 2 Tuff Crew 2' guest room, where we would wait for the show to begin.

"Oh man, this is going to be awesome!" A brawny kid with short, spiked blonde hair bounded up next to me. "I can't wait to learn some sweet moves!"

I glanced up and eyed him. This was a kid who looked like life had given him some hard knocks, and yet he looked so excited and eager for this chance. I bit my lip for a moment, mulling it over, before I finally heaved a sigh and nodded, turning back to the guide walking in front of us. "It'll be... interesting."

Okay, just because I wasn't enthused about this meant that I should ruin it for everybody. I had to remember that these kids with me genuinely just wanted a chance, and they thought they might find it tonight. All I needed to do was keep my head down, figure out if they were in any danger, and if they weren't, just... let tonight happen. Even if I didn't agree with everything that Bradford stood for, if he was genuinely trying to help kids, then who was I to judge?

The disinterested attendant led us through a door into the large gymnasium-like room that housed the dojo, where the crowd was already gathering, getting ready for the event. We were walking against the back wall, behind the large bleachers set up facing professional grade mats with the Bradford logo printed prominently in the middle, the whole area surrounded by lights and cameras, so most of the crowd didn't even notice us.

I sniffed the air curiously as we walked in a group. They must be using the strangest incense. It didn't smell like any usual scents that we ever used in our own dojo. In fact, it smelled more like... like...

No...

They wouldn't!

I froze, and stared in absolute horror across the room, where people were lined up at a counter, walking away with bags of popcorn, candy, and even hot dogs.

Was... was that a... a _concession stand_?!

They had actually set up a concession stand in their DOJO?!

But...

I...

They...

How could they even...

I... I didn't even have words!

* _Click_ *

I paused at the sound of the camera, then slowly turned with narrowed blue eyes. "Really? You too, sensei?"

April cleared her throat apologetically as she proceeded to text the picture she had just taken. "I'm so sorry, Leo, but Mikey cornered me."

* * *

The adults were escorted to special seats to watch, and we waited in the back room with the director and several attendants as we waited for our cue.

The crowd out in the main room took their seats and hushed as the lights dimmed. There was a special, pre-programmed foreword, talking about Chris Bradford and his career, and about how Jack was following in his uncle's footsteps to honor his memory. I could only imagine how Karai and Shini were rolling their eyes at the saintly way they were painting the former Foot lieutenant. They were making it sound like he spent his life founding orphanages and rescuing kittens and puppies.

But then, finally, it was time. The lights dimmed, colored beams flashed around excitedly, and as we filed into the room as rock music boomed loudly and the announcer enthusiastically introduced us.

"Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of Bradford Dojo's Incorporated, please give a warm welcome to tonight's honorary members of Jack Bradford's Future Bradford 2 Tuff Crew 2! Take a good look at them now, ladies and gentlemen, for tonight, under the instructions of Sensei Bradford, we will see them transform before our very eyes into proud warriors, as Master Jack will show them how to earn the respect of the world!"

I glanced up to see the scattered crowd in the half full bleachers, all of them clapping and cheering. April was seated in a specially marked section in the front row, along with the other parents-slash-adult chaperones. Combing the crowd above, I picked out the others sitting smack in the middle. It would've been pretty hard to miss them. Their fellow onlookers sitting next to them were leaning away a little and giving them strange side looks, but that didn't seem to deter them in the slightest. Even Karai was holding up signs covered in blue glitter as she winked at me, cheering me on.

Huh. Well, Casey was obviously enjoying himself, a fully loaded hot dog in hand. So somebody had taken advantage of the freaking concession stand in the middle of a freaking dojo. And honestly, Casey, I could understand, but, for some reason, Shini was holding a Slushee cup as well, and Karai had a bag of popcorn! Neither seemed at all properly scandalized like they should be! I had thought that they, of all people, would understand! This was supposed to be a dojo, a place of decorum, tradition, and order! I briefly wondered if my brothers were watching this up on the rooftop, and what they thought of it all.

I sighed and rubbed the bridge of my nose. If I was being at all honest with myself, that large bag of cotton candy sitting next to Shini was probably at Mikey's request.

We all lined up at the edge of the mat as instructed, gave a respectful bow to the audience, and then we turned and lowered ourselves down in a seiza position to wait as instructed. I sank down into the familiar pose easily, but some of the other students awkward and fidgeting with the unfamiliar kneeling position. I noticed the spikey blonde kid next to me seemed to be having a bit of trouble getting comfortable. I cleared my throat and caught his eye, then subtly demonstrated to him how to adjust his feet. He blinked, wiggled a bit as he adjusted his stance like I showed him, then smiled gratefully at me. Then we all turned our attention back to the Bradford-branded mats covering the dojo floors as the rock song faded and morphed into a dramatic electronic thrum.

Colored beams of light flashed around the room, pulsed, and moved to focus on a doorway, and then there he was.

Jack Bradford burst through the door and came jogging across the center of the mats towards the audience, arms up and gesturing towards the crowd enthusiastically, encouraging the roar of applause and whistles. He was wearing the same outfit from before, the chest bearing shirt and jeans that Chris Bradford had been so famous for, but was now also armed with a commando belt filled with survival gear and weapons strapped across his chest. Beside me, my fellow students shifted in excitement and cheered as well.

I risked a glance behind me to see that April was calmly seated and doing a quiet but polite golf clap, obviously not nearly as enthusiastic as the people around her. Karai was leaning forward and eyeing Bradford like a hawk getting ready to pounce on a mouse. Raising an eyebrow at the sight, I turned back around to eye the martial arts instructor, almost feeling bad for him. Heavens help him if he were indeed working with the NeoFoot.

Jack Bradford jogged back and forth in front of the crowd for a few moments, waving and pointing and generally trying to work up the energy levels. Then the music quieted down a bit to a less deafening level, and Bradford took front and center.

"Good evening, New York!" he cheered to applause. "It's good to be back in my Uncle's home town! Such an amazing crowd we have tonight! And let me tell you all!" He gestured towards us. "We're going to see some amazing things from these students tonight! Let's give them all another hand!"

There was another enthusiastic round of cheering, and I groaned and covered my face as glittery signs were waved wildly about.

And then, with the smell of pizza, hot dogs, and popcorn wafting by, Jack began his lesson, walking back and forth before us as he told us of his uncle's vision and dreams, some sort of drivel about respect that I somehow managed to channel my orange and red brother and fully tune out, and finally giving a few demonstrations of kicks, punches, and knife throwing, just to show how skilled he was.

And, to his credit, he wasn't bad. He landed each attack and throw quite accurately against the mannequin he was demonstrating on. He wasn't on the level of my brothers or April, of course, but I could see how he could be considered a leader in the field.

I was just starting to think that I might be able to make it through the night with surprisingly little issues, when a problem arose.

Apparently, we were expected to participate.

"Tonight, you are my students!" Jack paced slowly past us as he continued his long winded lecture. "And, tonight, I will be your Sensei, your teacher!" He threw his arms out wide to the side. "Can I get a 'Hai, Sensei'?!"

"Hai, Sensei!" the kids beside me echoed smartly. I didn't join them, choosing to sit silently, eyes narrowed as I watched him.

Jack continued pacing the stage. "Tonight, I am here to share with you all the wisdom and knowledge that my uncle passed onto me. Listen to me well, my students, and heed my words, for tonight is the night that will change your life! Tonight is the night you start earning the respect!" He stopped and pivoted on his heels to point at us. "Can I get a 'Hai, Sensei'?!"

"Hai, Sensei!" the reply this time was even louder and more enthusiastic.

Once again, I just clenched the fabric covering my knees in my hands and remained stiff and silent.

"Oh ho!" Jack apparently noticed, and stopped in front of me, eyebrow raised. He had a confident smirk on his face, as if he had seen this all before. Which would make sense, I supposed. This was a program for troubled kids, after all, and often times that came with a problem with authority figures. "It seems we have a doubter in our ranks this evening. Such a strong warrior spirit in one so small, I admire that."

"With all due respect, Bradford-san, I already have a sensei, and you are not her." I said tightly, keeping a calm, neat seiza.

I could almost feel April's groan and slow facepalm behind me. Yup. This was a point I was prepared to be quite stubborn about.

Jack seemed a little surprised, then amused. "Oh, wait, really? That's what this is all about?" He looked at me thoughtfully. "You already have some experience in martial arts, then?"

I merely gave a slight nod.

"Well, it is good that you're showing your sensei such respect! It speaks well of you as a warrior!" Jack apparently decided, and nodded approvingly. Then he struck another dramatic pose. "But fear not, little one. I don't mean to supplant your teacher, only to show you an alternative path. You can have more then one sensei, you know."

"Indeed." I said coolly. "But, once again with all due respect, you are not one of them."

Jack paused, studied me for a moment, then grinned. "Your name was Leo, wasn't it? Come here, little lion." Jack took a step back, gesturing for me to step up to a mark on the mat across from him. "Let me give a little demonstration."

I exhaled slowly, blowing a stray tuft of hair that dangled over my forehead. Okay, this was quickly turning into a worst case scenario. "I... I'm not sure this is the best course of action. For either one of us."

"Oh, don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you." Jack gave me another signature brilliant white crooked smile. "I am a professional, after all, and I would never injure one of my students!"

Not seeing any other options, I sighed and reluctantly stood up to stand on the indicated mark, eyeing him carefully and trying to figure out the best way to handle this.

Should... should I just throw the match?

Hm. That might work. This whole thing was all a sham anyways, and I wouldn't gain anything by humiliating him in front of his students and audience. Despite his poor taste in, well, just about everything, he seemed like a nice enough guy, and I just wanted this night to be done and over with. The quickest way to be done with this was to let him prove his dumb point, then he'd move on to the other kids.

"Alright, my students." Jack turned to address the others. "Remember this, every battle begins and ends with respect. If you respect your opponent, they will respect you! Thus, every proper match in the dojo begins and ends with a bow." He turned to me and bowed and, following tradition, I returned the gesture, more out of politeness then anything.

He took up a stance. "Alright, little lion, we're just going to display a few simple moves here. Don't get frustrated if you cannot strike me, just remember that I am a professional with years of experience. This is a learning exercise."

I sighed and mirrored his stance half-heartedly.

I was a little startled when a loud sound bite of a dramatic electronic deep male voice echoed through the speakers, ' **Combat, Begin**!'.

As if this were some sort of video game!

Oh wait... Crud, this was going to give Mikey ideas, and I was going to have to spend hours talking him out of it!

I faintly heard a phone camera going off, but among the music and the crowd noises, I couldn't pinpoint just which one of my family was responsible.

The music changed to dramatic battle music, and Bradford lunged forward towards me. He moved with a quickness and grace that was fairly impressive, so I had to give him props for that as I watched his arm reach out for me. I didn't attempt to dodge or block, and was quickly knocked face down on the padded mat below.

" **K.O.!** " The speakers blared out dramatically, and the match over almost as soon as it had begun.

"Oh, _booo_!" I heard Casey scoff from the bleachers.

I heard some of the kids snickering, but I ignored them as I started to push myself back up. This was not a real dojo, and it was not worth the effort. To just get this done and over with was the tactically sound course of action right now, and what they thought of me made no difference. That's all I needed to do.

"Oh, come _on_ , little lion!" Jack laughed, grabbing me and hoisting me up to my feet. "You didn't even try! Show some pride!"

"You won. Isn't that what you wanted to happen?" I glanced back at my seat, wanting nothing more then to stop being the center of attention. "Are we done now?"

"Oh no, small one. We are far from done with our lesson!" Jack pointed at me dramatically, then turned to the crowd, proudly proclaiming. "And here, at Bradford Dojos, I will teach you how to earn respect!"

The crowd gave an enthusiastic cheer.

"Oh, come on, Leo! Are you really going to take that?!" I heard the indignant cry from the wildly waving glitter sign section.

Bradford grinned at me as he moved into his sparring position across from me again, obviously wanting to go another round. I gave a resigned sigh as I realized that he wasn't going to let this go, and lifted my arms up in another half hearted pose.

"Oh, what is _that_?" Jack shook his head in disappointment, his hands on his hips as he studied me. "I can see why you ended up here, if that's all you've been taught! Your teacher obviously needs to work on her lesson plans, if that's the best she can do."

My eyes narrowed and my jaw tightened just a little at his words.

"Ah! There we go!" he noticed with a smirked. "There's a spark of fight in there after all!" He stepped back and took up a stance again. "Now again! You obviously need to be shown what a real Sensei looks like!"

This time, I didn't move into a battle ready posture to humor him. I just stood there, ramrod straight and fists clenched, waiting.

" **Combat, Begin!** "

Bradford rushed at me, just as before. But this time, his grab only met empty air, and almost faster then anybody could follow, he was flipped over, face planting hard down onto the mat.

There was a moment of shocked silence, and then Karai's voice cheered out, "Kick his ass, Leo! _That's_ my little brother!"

Bradford pushed himself up, and he looked at me dumbfounded, as if he was still trying to figure out what exactly had just happened.

" **K.O.** "

The announcement was a lot more hesitant this time, as if the sound crew wasn't quite sure if they should be playing it for their boss's own defeat.

"O...Okay." Bradford cleared his throat, getting back up to his feet. Then he seemed to pull himself back together, and laughed, obviously trying to regain face. "Well done! So! You do have some skills after all! I underestimated you, little lion." He turned back to the other students. "Another lesson you must learn, always get up even if you get knocked down! You only lose if you give up!" He turned back to me. "Very well, let's try this again! Now I know I don't need to hold back!"

I merely blew some hair out of my face and narrowed my blue eyes at him.

* * *

I had to admit, Jack Bradford was an interesting character. More then I thought he would be, at any rate. Despite his sham of a dojo and utter lack of proper respect for etiquette, he apparently took his martial training seriously and was actually quite skilled. He obviously worshiped his uncle, and yet, at the same time he held a strong desire to prove himself against his uncle's shadow. He played the showman quite well, and knew how to play to both his audience and his students. At first, as we sparred, I could tell that was holding back quite a bit. He was, after all, sparring with a child, and he didn't want to hurt me. That would be bad publicity, of course! Though, if I were honest, I had to admit some begrudging respect for the level of physical control he showed.

But then I stopped following his expected script, and as he kept getting knocked down over and over again, obvious cracks began to appear in that control. His punches and kicks grew more frustrated, more erratic, and more dangerous. He was, like his uncle, a proud man, and he losing face, and, like his uncle, he didn't know how to deal with that.

The more logical side of me was telling me that I should probably put an end to this. Continuing to poke this hornet's nest wasn't the smartest or wisest thing to do.

The thirteen year old in me, though, was secretly enjoying this whole fight waaaay too much to stop.

" _I_ am the master of this dojo, and you **will** respect me!" Jack Bradford hiss through clenched teeth, swinging around in a kick that was probably far too forceful to be used against somebody as small as myself, but it didn't really matter, as I had already ducked under it and danced back.

Being only thirteen, and a short thirteen year old at that, I didn't have anything close to the reach or the strength of this adult, but I did have the advantage of speed and agility. Not to mention, I had residual memories of my past life, my brothers training me, and April as a sensei, and most of the time, my sparring partners now were giant, highly skilled mutant turtles with decades of experience. As skilled as Bradford was, any one of my brothers could've easily folded him up into a pretzel with little effort.

"You're losing your temper." I chided him, leaping back lightly from the kick and moving inwards to swipe at the back of his knee.

He twisted around to avoid the attack, his face red and tense. "No. I. Am. Not! _I_ am the one in control here! You will show me respect!"

Anger made him sloppy, and he overreached, leaving an opening. I was quick to dart in and exploit it. And, in a second, Jack Bradford was once more sent flailing down to the mat below.

" **K.O!** "

The soundboard guys apparently had lost all hesitance, and almost seemed to be enjoying themselves.

The tone of the audience had changed dramatically as well, and there was whispering, giggling and even outright laughter as this master of martial arts kept losing over and over to a small child.

" _Again_." Jack hissed angrily as he pushed himself back up to his feet.

Long gone was the easy confidence, the smiling face of the friendly showman. Jack Bradford was breathing heavily, his posture tight, and his face dark and red. He was seething, humiliated, and on the verge of completely losing control.

Up in the bleachers, Karai, Shini, and Casey could be heard laughing and cheering me on, obviously thoroughly enjoying the whole scene. But, just beyond the fuming and panting Bradford, I could see April-Sensei, still sitting with the other parents. She frowned, crossed her arms and gave me a look.

I swallowed, then took a step back, slowly exhaled, and stood up straight.

"No." I stood there for a moment, breathing just a little heavily from the exertions, then gave a polite bow. "You were an honorable opponent, but I believe I have proven the worth and honor of my sensei. You have other students to attend to, and I don't wish to take up more of your time."

"Oh, no you don't! This is _my_ dojo, and you will fight me!" Bradford hissed angrily, tensely taking a stance. "I am Jack Bradford, nephew of Chris Bradford, and three time world champion martial artist! I will _not_ be mocked!"

"You are on the verge of losing control." I said firmly. "You need to calm down before you do something you regret. We are done here." I turned away, and took a few steps, intending to take my seat at the edge of the map once more.

And then, in an instant, it was almost as if something in me snapped into place, and I had moved before I even realized it.

One second I had been walking away, and then in the next, I had instantly twisted back around, the palm of my hands pressed tightly together, having caught the airborne knife blade midflight before it could strike the back of my head.

The laughter and chattering from the audience stopped instantly, leaving only the peppy prerecorded music playing, which now sounded hollow and empty as it echoed through the silence. Everybody could only stare in stunned disbelief, as if they weren't quite sure what they had just seen, or how they should react.

Bradford, breathing heavily with his arm still extended from the throw, slowly pulled his arm back, his eyes widening as he seemed to only just then start to realize what he had almost just done.

I exhaled slowly, and then calmly shifted the knife in my grasp so I was holding it by the handle, examining it. Everything in that moment felt surreal. I felt... older. Wiser. More experienced. In that moment, I didn't feel quite like myself.

Or... maybe more accurately... I felt more like myself then ever.

* * *

 _A/N_

 _Yeah... there's a few spectators that were watching that fight that just might take exception to what just happened..._

 _Oh, and I should probably mention that it took a bit of detective work, but I finally managed to figure out from 2k12 April's ID card that she went to Roosevelt High School, so I used that for Leo's school._

 _Anyways, part three coming soon! I promise!_


	11. Of Honor and Respect: Part Three

The air in the room around us was tense. Nobody seemed able to move, to do anything. Jack Bradford, the leading celebrity martial artist in the country, had just thrown a knife at a child's head! Was it scripted, or had that really just happened?!

I turned the knife over in my hands for a moment, examining its razor sharp edge with a critical eye. Then I casually tucked the small throwing knife away in my belt as I turned and began walking towards Bradford.

"You are lucky." I said overly loud as I approached, so that everybody could hear. "Stupid, but lucky. If you had thrown a real weapon at the back of my head, I could've been seriously injured, or even killed." I stopped in front of him, my blue eyes steeled over as they met his and held his gaze. "And I know that isn't something you wanted or intended to happen."

His face paled as he nervously eyed me, trying to figure out what I was up to. I was hiding the truth, but why? What was my motive? He slowly straightened up, looking like he wanted nothing more then to bolt and run at that moment.

Around us, the crowd murmured and seemed to relax a little at my words, obviously relieved that they hadn't just almost witnessed an attempted murder, but obviously still shaken by what had just happened.

I continued to lecture him, crossing my arms. "Even if you were using a mere prop...," (which it hadn't been) "...you should never, ever used them like that against anybody, much less a child."

He swallowed nervously, seemingly caught by my intense blue eyes. "I... I didn't mean to... I just..."

"You just lost control." I crossed my arms. "As I told you, it would be best if you took a small break to regain control of your emotions. Get a drink of water. Comb your beard." I gestured towards the door. "We will talk about this incident later, in a more private setting."

Bradford swallowed hard, and, after backing away a few steps, turned and almost fell over himself bolting for the door.

"Oh! And I highly recommend you stay inside." I called out after him. "I wouldn't leave the building if I were you!"

He continued to run off as if he couldn't hear me.

"Jack!" The director called out after him, then grabbed her hair, obviously on the verge on panic. "Oh, this is bad. This is very bad! What the hell was he thinking?!" She quickly turned to grab me by the shoulders. "Are you alright, child?!"

"I am fine." I nodded. Then I turned around, and paused when I noticed the aftermath going on in the rest of the gym.

It was like a fog of disbelief and uncertainty had settled over the room. Everybody just sat in their seats nervously, unsure of just what had happened, or what to do. The cameramen and staff were shuffling about, throwing uncertain looks at one another, and the other kids and the audience seemed stunned and dazed. What should they do now? Should they stay? Go? What exactly had just happened?!

I couldn't help feeling just the tiniest pangs of guilt starting to well up in my chest. These people had come here for an innocent night of fun and education. And... and those kids sitting there, all looking so lost and confused. They had come here looking for answers and, maybe, a second chance in life.

And I had let my pride get the better of me and ruined it for them.

"Are you alright, Leo?" April had quickly moved from her seat onto the mats beside me, grabbing my gloved hands and quickly examining them with concern. She obviously was quite aware that had been a real knife that had been thrown at me, and her green eyes flashed. "I swear, if he hurt you..."

"I'm fine, Sensei." I nodded absently, studying the other kids still sitting at the edge of the mat, then I glanced back over at her. I patted her hand gently in reassurance before taking my hands back. "I'm not quite done here yet, though. Do you mind waiting with the other parents just a little bit longer?" I turned to the director, who was still looking a bit panicked and shaken. "Excuse me. I need to borrow the mic for a bit."

"Uh... what?" The director blinked at me, confused.

But I had already reached up and taken the microphone out of her hands. "It'll be only a bit." I promised, then turned to the audience.

The director looked at April, confused and unsure, but April just looked at me for a moment, as if she was suddenly seeing something in me. She gave the director a nod and a knowing smile as she turned and took her seat among the confused parents once more.

"So, my apologies for what just happened." I frowned as I fiddled with the mic a bit, then nodded as I found a satisfactory way to hold it. I turned back to the line of kids. "As you may have guessed, things didn't exactly go according to plan."

The kids paused, and eyed me, unsure of what was going on.

"I'm going to request that you remain seated for a few more minutes." I continued talking. "There's actually a few points I wanted to bring up about all this, and I hope you'll all bear with me for a moment."

There was a quiet murmur. Nobody really seemed quite sure if they should let me keep going or not, but they didn't actually move to stop me.

"Now, what I want to address is what seems to be the theme of the lesson tonight. Respect." I continued, starting to walk in front of the other students. "That seems to be the concept that has attracted so many followers here tonight. And I agree, respect is very important, both as a martial artist, and as a person. Everybody has a deep desire to be respected. It's only natural." I shook my head. "But with all due respect to Master Bradford, I have to disagree slightly on a few points he made." I paused and stopped in front of the spikey haired blonde kid who had seemed so eager before, letting my blue eyes meet his. "In my opinion," I nodded to him, and the other students, "True respect is not something to be demanded or earned from others. If you want respect, then it is something that first must come from within yourself. Learn to respect yourself first, and you'll quickly find that others will automatically start to respect you more in return." I shrugged. "And even if they don't, you'll find that it matters not. The only opinion that truly matters, the only opinion that you have any control over... is your own."

"Now, I know that it's not quite as simple as that." I continued to walk slowly up the row of kneeling students, watching them carefully. "It's one thing to simply say 'Learn to respect yourself'. It's quite another thing to actually do so. Respecting ones own self can be very difficult, it's not something that you can just decide to do. Self doubt, loathing, fears, and uncertainty often plague even the strongest mind, and they can make it quite difficult to like, much less respect, yourself. Things you've done in your past that you're not proud of, embarrassing moments, failures, they can often push their way into your thoughts and make you feel worthless. Many times, you may even feel like wish you were somebody else, somebody better or smarter or prettier. That's quite normal, especially for teenagers, when emotions are so raw, and identity is so confusing."

"But, martial arts is more then just a fighting style." I nodded, seeing as I had their attention. "It's a discipline, designed to strengthen more then just your body. It's also meant to bring balance, and respect. Real respect, from within yourself." I paused in the center to face them all. "As cliche as it sounds, true mastery of ones self comes from exercising all three components that comprise who you are. Mind, body, and soul, they are all equally important. If you wish to learn to respect yourself, you need to first find your balance, your center. And martial arts help you to figure out who you are, and who you want to be."

And so, for the next few hours, I continued my lecture. And they listened.

I began by telling them about exercising the soul.

I explained about codes of honor. There were many martial artists followed codes of honor, following strict rules on how they acted and reacted to things. There were a few scoffs when I started on this topic, but they died away as I explained that it wasn't about following a religion, or becoming a paladin-like being. I patiently explained that, for most, anyways, they didn't do this because it made them feel superior to everybody else around them, as many people seemed to think, but because it gave them a sense of purpose and identity. Instead of spending their lives searching for who they were, they took the initiative and decided for themselves on the kind of person they wanted to be, and that this was going to be the way they wanted to live their lives. Thus they adopted rules for themselves to follow, even if nobody was watching them as they followed. It didn't matter what other people thought of them, but what they thought of themselves. Their codes weren't meant to bring them honor in the eyes of others, but to bring themselves honor in their own eyes. And, eventually, the codes would shape you into the type of person other people would see as well. I gently made it quite plain that, even if one failed at following their own code occasionally, even if own didn't live up to ones own expectations, that didn't mean you were a lost cause. No, you were only lost if you stopped trying to better yourself. It was far greater courage to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and vow to keep trying. It was a far greater thing to always keep trying to be the person you want to be.

Next, I told them about exercising the mind.

I explained about meditation. I told them how meditation wasn't always about emptying one's mind, nor traveling to the astral plane. It was often actually more practical and pragmatic then that. I explained quietly and simply how the brain was often like a jar filled with water and silt. Because life was often chaotic and uncontrollable, with so many things going on at once, that it could feel like the jar was all shaken up, leaving your thoughts and emotions swirling like dirt and debris in your mind. Everything was all tumbling together and making things messy and muddled. Meditation was merely taking a step back, taking calming breaths, and just letting all that silt slowly settle down to the bottom, leaving the water clear once more. I knew that when people thought of meditation, the images often brought to mind were of monks in exotic temples with smoky incense filling the air, but it didn't have to be like that. Anybody could meditate. Just a few minutes sitting in a quiet corner in a chair would even suffice, and it was something that came easier with practice. I considered this lesson the most important by far, and spent quite a bit of time teaching them how to relax and showing them a few helpful breathing techniques.

And, then, finally, I went over exercising the body. This was what they had all come here for, after all!

I made it clear that there was more then just strength and kicks and punches when I talked about taking care of oneself physically. There was a vital importance to one's own well being in eating healthy and sleeping well, as well as a proper exercise routine. There was that old saying that the body was a temple, and it was quite true. The physical body was what housed the soul and mind, and all three required care and attention.

By now, most of the students seemed to accept the fact that I had somehow ended up the teacher tonight, and were eagerly asking to learn some of the moves I had used earlier on Bradford. They... gave surprisingly convincing puppy dog eyes, and I finally caved in. I didn't feel comfortable showing them anything too complex, but basic self defense never hurt, right? Thus, I spent the rest of the time allotted for the program demonstrating and walking them through some very basic moves.

Eventually, though, the lesson had to come to an end. They kids all listened closely as I gave them one last summary of what I had shown them, and then signaled to the sound crew, who ended my speech with the soundbite of a mighty lion's roar. I paused and raised an eyebrow at them. They gave me a hearty thumbs up, then went about playing some pretty epic power ballad to close out the night.

Shaking my head, I turned to give one last glance at the other kids as I moved over to hand the mic back over to the staff and walked off the mats. They were once again looking excited and hopeful, rushing to meet their parents and guardians and excitedly talking. A couple of them waved at me when they noticed, which gave me a bit of hope. Perhaps I had made things right?

Shini, Karai, and Casey were waiting for me at the edge of the mat.

"Leonardo, you were amazing!" Shini grabbed and pulled me into a tight hug.

"Well, of course!" Casey laughed fondly, ruffling my hair. "He's Leo! Of course he'll always jump on the opportunity to come up with the most epic lectures."

"Casey!" I protested, unable to hide the grin even as I made the motions of indignantly smoothing my hair back down.

Unlike the other two, though, Karai was frowning. She immediately reached around and grabbed the small throwing knife that I had tucked into my belt, running a finger along the steel edge and examining it closely. Her face darkened considerably.

"Don't worry, we're going to deal with that in a moment." I reached up and took the knife back, carefully tucking it back away.

I looked around. Where was... Oh. There she was.

Apparently the other adults had figured out who my sensei was. April was trying her best to work her way over to us, but she was currently not only being swarmed by several parents, but was also trying to politely brush off the director, who was apparently trying to pitch an idea for a new series. "No, no, I'm sorry. I'm not taking in any more students at this time, and we're not interested in any production deals. Excuse me, please."

Casey raised an eyebrow, then straightened up and stepped back from me. "Welp, seems like my services are needed here. Hold these for me, will ya, Karai?"

He handed off his hand painted sign, and quickly strode towards April, cracking his neck and knuckles as he moved. The muscular and lanky hockey player plowed into the crowd pressing around my Sensei like a long haired bowling ball, quickly scattering them. "Okay, peoples. Ya heard the pretty lady. Back off, she ain't interested!"

April exhaled in relief, gave Casey a thankful look, and finally managed to make her way towards me. She knelt down to sweep me out of Shini's arms, pulling me into a warm hug. From the look on her face, I could tell she was immensely proud of me.

I was just a little surprised just by how much I reveled in the tangible glow of her pride, and couldn't help but returned the hug tightly, a grin crossing my face.

Then, Karai handed Casey back his signs as he rejoined us, dusting off his hands and leaving behind a slightly cowed and bewildered scattered mass of people.

"Come on." April exhaled and stepped back and gestured for us to follow. "We need to go talk to the guys. I'm sure they're worried sick about Leo."

* * *

We finally managed to sneak our way out of the crowd, found the stairs leading up, and made our way to the rooftop, where my brothers had ben camping out. I had no sooner reached the top step, and pushed open the door, when familiar green hands snatched me up and pulled me tight against a plastron in a fierce hug.

"Oh Leo!" Mikey clutched me close. "That was sooo intense! So many emotions were had! I mean, at first when you weren't going to fight Bradford, we were like, 'C'mon, bro!', but then you totally did fight Bradford, and you totally kicked his butt and it was awesome, and we were like 'Awesome, bro!' but then AHHH! The knife! He threw a knife! And you caught it! And it was like more AHHHs! And I was freaking out and Raph was freaking out and Donnie was freaking out and we didn't know if we should bust down there or not. But then you used your lecture superpowers and It. Was. So. AWESOME!"

And with that last word of that jumbled up, run on sentence, he squeezed me tighter, and I gave a strangled noise. "Mikey. You're... squishing... me."

"I know, big bro." Mikey whispered, reaching up to pet my hair. "Embrace the squish."

"Leo!" Donnie appeared and managed to pry me out of Mikey's grasp. He quickly set me on the ground and grabbed my hands in his large, green three fingered ones and examining them hurriedly. "Are you okay?! How are your hands?! That knife didn't cut you, did it?"

"I'm wearing the gloves you made me, Donnie." I reassured him, flexing my fingers to show him I still had all ten digits. "So not even a scratch."

"He spent an hour and a half lecturing the entire gymnasium." Shini pointed out, amused. "I think losing a finger might have hampered that."

Donnie scoffed, carefully but firmly turning my hands over, and relief softened his reddish brown eyes as he seemed satisfied that I was, as I had said, uninjured. "We _are_ talking about Leo here, you know. He's tried training on a broken ankle before." He paused, and fingered the sleeve of my gi, noting the autograph inked on it with a frown. "Hm. We'll can use rubbing alcohol to remove that later."

" _Thank you_!" I was immensely relieved and grateful.

"So you all saw what happened then?" April asked, frowning as she moved over to put a hand on my shoulder.

"Oh yeah." Mikey gave her a wolfish smile. "Speaking of which..." He turned towards Donnie. "I believe it's your turn, Dee."

"Oh, is it already?" Donnie released my hands and stood back up, dusting himself down. Then he flipped out his bo staff and spun it casually in one hand as he walked forward a few steps, pulling out a throwing star out of a pouch on his belt with the other. He tossed the metal star in the air and snapped into action, catching it expertly on the end of his bo as he spun around. In a flash, the throwing star was whipped around the air as he spun, gaining momentum, and then was essentially sling-shotted, flung off the staff through the air like a silver bullet.

Around the corner, past a wall that blocked my view, there was a thunk and a whimpering yelp.

"Booyah!" Mikey could see what was beyond the wall, and was obviously impressed with Donnie's aim. "And that's fifteen points for the Deester!"

"Ooh, good shot, Donnie." Raph's voice complimented from around the wall.

Curious, we moved around the wall to see, and I raised my eyebrow.

Well, in all fairness, I _had_ warned him not to leave the building.

Jack Bradford was pressed up against a wall, looking like he wanted to do nothing more then crawl into the nearest hole and disappear forever.

Unfortunately for him, the main thing preventing him from doing so was the fact that he that he had two sais pinning him firmly to the wall by his clothing, leaving him hanging there, pinned. He was trembling and curled up as much as one could in his particular situation, his body framed by dozens of not only throwing stars embedded into the wall around him, but a wide and vast assortment of knives and blades of various sizes. My brothers had apparently taken the time to set up a point system with chalk around him, as if he were the center of a human sized dart board.

Truth be told, I was actually pretty impressed by the sheer number of throwable sharp objects my brothers had apparently had brought with them tonight.

"I told you not to go outside." I mentioned to Bradford casually as we walked up.

" _You_!" His eyes widened when he saw me, and he almost moved, except there was a row of sharp shurikens lined up by his legs which quickly reminded him that moving was not a good idea.

"Yeah, what about him?" Raph was standing next to him, and apparently didn't like his tone. His huge, powerful hand smacked the wall as he leaned down to give Bradford a closeup of his snarling sneer. "Go ahead. Tell us. Just what about him?"

"Wait! I wasn't! I-I... Er... I mean..." Bradford, if anything, curled up even more under Raph's towering glare, before whimpering, "What's going on here?!"

It dawned on me that the poor, terrified, horribly confused man was obviously in way out of his depths. He didn't seem to have any idea of who or what my brothers were, or just what, exactly, he had gotten himself into.

Thinking about it, he probably wasn't having a very good day.

Raph snorted, then glanced up to give me a ruthless smirk, pressing against the wall to take a step back. "We've been giving this dickhead a valuable life lesson on why he shouldn't throw weapons at people." He gestured towards the quivering man. "Want to give it a go, Leo?"

"Please don't." Bradford whimpered, eyeing the shuriken embedded only an inch from his left eye. "I've learned my lesson! I swear! I've learned my lesson!"

"You threw... a KNIFE... at a child's... HEAD!" April snarled. "You could've KILLED him!"

Raph's face darkened considerably at her words, and he stepped forward, cracking his knuckles. "And NOBODY messes with our bro like that."

"Your... your bro?!" Bradford looked between me and my brothers, apparently not seeing the family resemblance.

"Wait. Before you guys have too much fun, I do need to step in and have a discussion with him first." Karai stepped forward, her golden eyes glinting dangerously.

"Whoa, K-girl." Mikey held up a hand to stop her. "Totally acknowledging your Big Sister territory here, but we already called dibs."

"Oh, trust me, as much as I'd love to take Bradford apart for what he pulled on Leo down there, I know where our clan boundaries lie." Karai reassured him dryly, never taking her predatory stare off of the cringing, bewildered, and very terrified Bradford. "No, if you remember, I originally came here to find out some information,"

"And watch Leo kick some butt." Shini interrupted her with a smirk. "We most certainly came to see that."

Karai cleared her throat, and continued. "Yes. And that. But mostly, I had come here to have a chat with Bradford about his activities, if I may remind you." She waved a hand. "The rest of his transgressions, sadly, fall into Hamato Clan territory, not Foot. I'll only join in the fun if invited, I promise."

Raph paused and pondered this. "So... first you interrogate, and then we get to peel him apart?"

Karai nodded. "Of course."

I didn't think it was possible for a man to look more terrified, as Bradford's eyes widened, looking at me, then shifting to look at my brothers. "Wait... Hamato Clan?! You're saying that that kid is... And they... The turtles I mean... They're... They're really..." He swallowed hard, eyeing Raph nervously. "I... had heard rumors, but... but I didn't think they actually existed!" His eyes widened further as suddenly some of Karai's words sunk in fully, and his face suddenly blanched even further. "Wait. Foot?!" he squeaked, his voice somehow cracking even more. "As in the Foot Clan?!" He seemed to truly get a good look at Karai then gasped weakly, obviously recognizing her. "O-Oroku Karai?!"

I could almost see the internal tally counter in his brain for 'So, just how many more things can go horribly wrong today?' click another couple of counts higher.

"Hamato Karai." She corrected him sharply. "The Mistress of the true Foot Clan." She turned to my red shadow, gesturing towards the pinned Bradford. "Raph? If you don't mind?"

Raph glanced at her, thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. "Eh, why not. It's not like he's going anywhere." He reached forward and grabbed his sais, wrenching them out of the wall. Bradford gave a yelp and fell forward to land in a heap on the rooftop.

He quickly scrambled up to a knee before Karai respectfully. "Of-of course, mistress! Please, forgive me!" He was rapidly shifting between eyeing my brothers fearfully, and eyeing her with pleading puppy eyes.

"Hello, Jack, it's been more then a few years, hasn't it?" Karai stopped in front of him, plucking a kunai out of the wall behind him, and examined it. "I have to admit, I'm rather surprised to find you operating in New York City. Especially, since I'm quite certain that I had specifically declared this city Hamato territory, and thus off limits." She turned to Shini. "Didn't I say that?"

Shini leaned against a wall, playing with the chain of her Kusurigama. She nodded agreeably. "Yes, dear. I very distinctly remember you strongly stressing that point."

"And yet, imagine my surprise when I come here and discover that you were busy recruiting here. Almost as if it were behind my back." Karai turned back towards Bradford coldly, raising an eyebrow.

Jack Bradford's internal 'Bad Day' counter tally continued to tick upwards.

"I... er... I mean... I would never..." Bradford somehow, almost impossibly, seemed to shrink even further. "There was a substantial fanbase here already, and we were trying to keep up recruitment numbers. That... that order was made a decade ago, and I didn't think anybody would mind. I didn't think that the Hamato Clan actually existed! I mean, mutant turtles?! That is absurd!" His eyes shot over to my brothers nervously, suddenly realizing those 'absurd' mutant turtles were right there and very real. "Uh... no offense meant? Please?"

"Some taken." Mikey grinned at him.

"So then. Jack..." Shini suddenly melted out of the shadows behind him out of nowhere and purred in his ear. He yelped in surprise and jumped, turning to stare at her in shock, and then back to the empty place where she had been leaning only moments before. Her golden eyes glittered as she traced his cheek with a long fingernail. "Tell us of your dealings with the NeoFoot."

"The... the what?!" He swallowed, his eyes wide. He looked genuinely confused. Terrified, but confused. "Is... is that the name of the agent I'm supposed to be going through now? I haven't been told of any change. I've always just been contacting Greta, as usual."

Karai paused, then narrowed her eyes, studying him suspiciously. "You... you really don't know, do you?"

"Know what?!" Bradford squeaked, sweat dripping down his face.

Shini grabbed him by the chin, and looked into his eyes.

He whimpered, looking terrified back into hers.

Shini frowned, then nodded in satisfaction. She released his face and stepped back from him, dusting off her hands. "He's telling the truth. He's really clueless."

"No kidding." Donnie muttered under his breath.

Karai exhaled, though I couldn't tell if she was relieved or disappointed. Then she nodded, straightened up, and sternly pointed the kunai at Bradford. "There is a faction of traitors daring to call themselves the NeoFoot. If I ever find that you had anything to do with them..."

"Never, mistress!" Jack quickly shook his head overemphatically. "I'm loyal only to you and the true Foot Clan!" He bowed low.

"We shall see." Karai waved it off. "Very well. I believe you for now."

"Oh, thank goodness." Bradford exhaled in relief.

Karai cleared her throat. "Now, there's just the little matter of your behavior earlier tonight."

"That's where we come in!" Mikey volunteered.

"Wait!" Bradford gasped, turning to plead with Karai. "You're not going to help me? I'm not working with any NeoFoot, remember! I swear! I've been nothing but loyal!"

"Unfortunately for you, not only did you attempt to throw a weapon at the back of a child's head, but that child just so happened to be of the Hamato Clan." Karai crossed her arms, staring at him coldly.

"And, as Mistress Karai pointed out earlier, New York City is the recognized territory of the Hamato Clan." Shini playfully . "And, by the terms of the treaty between our two clans, the Hamato Clan is fully within its rights to litigate such a blatant transgression against one of their own."

Bradford's face blanched under his beard once again, and his nervous gaze once again darted towards my three, large, dangerous looking brothers, who were standing alongside a furious, mommabear April, and Casey, who was cracking his knuckles and giving a deranged grin.

"This is a very grave offense indeed." April said seriously, stroking her chin thoughtfully. She lowered her hand and shook her head. "I would say that judgement for such a crime should come from the Hamato Clan Leader himself."

"What?! No, please, have mercy! I'm sorry! I didn't mean anything!" Bradford wailed, obviously terrified at the prospect. I briefly wondered if he had ever met the Shredder while under his uncle's wing. Even if he hadn't, Karai _was_ pretty scary herself, so I supposed that if those two were the type of experience Jack had with ninja clan leaders, he was probably having some pretty intense possible scenarios running through his mind at that moment.

April looked down at me and winked. I gave her a quick, appreciative grin, then cleared my throat and put my best 'leader' face on.

"And thus you get to deal with me now." I stepped forward confidently.

His face transformed from fear to confusion. "Uh... what?" He started to stand up, looking around perplexed.

Raph grabbed him by the shoulder and shoved him back down roughly. "'Leo's our leader. So you'd better show him the proper respect."

"What?! The kid?!" Bradford looked at me in shock. "But... but he's still in elementary school!"

"And yet he managed to kick your butt rather handily." Mikey was more then happy to point out the obvious.

Jack Bradford looked from me, to my brothers, to April and Casey, to Karai, and then, finally, back to me, understanding dawning on his face.

They were completely serious. Somehow, despite being a young kid, I was actually the head of the Hamato Clan. _The_ Hamato Clan. An almost mythical clan, said to have powers and skills beyond imagination. If the rumors were true, and there were three obviously pissed giant mutant turtles in front of him, so they very well might be, this was a clan that was said to have stopped armies, alien invasions, and even destroyed the all powerful Shredder.

And he had thrown a knife at their leader earlier tonight.

I was fairly certain that internal 'Bad Day' counter broke at that moment.

"So... what's the verdict, Leo?" Donnie asked me casually, coming up to stand at my side. "Just say the word, and I can utterly ruin everything he loves and all that he's spent his life building with a few key strokes. Alternatively, Raph's idea was fairly simple. Simply punt him off the side of the building." He paused for a moment. "Mikey's plan of building tiny knife carrying robots to shadow him and throw knives at him when he's least expecting it is a little more... unconventional, but still doable as well."

"It's poetic justice." Mikey nodded sagely.

"I-I didn't mean to throw that knife! Honest! I... I never meant to do that!" Bradford pleaded, looking around and sweating. "Please, just... I-I'm sorry! I'll -I'll leave! I won't ever trespass here again! I'll do whatever you want!"

I pulled his knife out my belt, and he stopped, swallowing hard.

"You will never, EVER do something as stupid as this again. Do you hear me?" I held up the knife and fixed my icy blue eyes on him.

"I..." His shoulders bunched up a little, and he shrank back a bit, clenching a fist as he looked away. "No. I won't. I swear."

"Hm." I frowned at him. I flipped the knife up, caught it, then tucked it behind my back as drew back my arms. "Listen closely, because this is the way it's going to be. Those kids I saw tonight? They came here looking for a chance in life. All they wanted was something they could believe in. A purpose. And your program? It has potential. Not only to teach kids how to respect themselves, but, to find a place for those that have none. But, there are definitely issues that need to be addressed first."

Bradford eyed me warily. "Such as?"

I held up one finger. "First off, you are going to attend anger management classes. And not some faux celebrity rehab center or something like that. No, you are going to find a certified and reputable program, and you will not interact with any students or teach any classes until you have completed this program to their satisfaction. I do not want to hear of a repeat of tonight, is that understood?"

Bradford licked his dry lips, but nodded, a little hope flickering back into his eyes. Maybe he would survive tonight after all.

"Second." I held up another finger, counting the points off. "You will hire professional, trained therapists who are specialized to help troubled children. They will not only council and provide therapy for the kids that come into your program, but you will follow the lesson plans they help you put together. No more of that aggressive 'Earn the Respect' nonsense."

"What?!" he started to protest. "But my slogan is..."

"... Is counter productive, and will only encourage kids to get into fights that they can't win." I stopped him with a glare. "Much like you did tonight."

Bradford couldn't argue with that, but his face did grow a little sullen. Until Raph cleared his throat, and Bradford remembered that only a thirteen year old stood between him and getting punted off a building. "Understood." he meekly lowered his head respectfully.

"You are very much on thin ice right now." I frowned at him. "Know that we will be following up on this, and running background checks on anybody you hire for these positions. Make sure they are qualified." I held up my hand again. "Third point, and I think this one is rather obvious. I trust Karai, and her plans for her clan. She can take those lost recruits and set them on a path of honor, instead of joining street gangs like the Purple Dragons. Thus, I have no issue with you recruiting for her, even in our territories."

"Leo..." Karai seemed touched at this.

I glanced at her to give a quick smile, before turning stern once more at Bradford. "But if I ever hear of you leading kids to the NeoFoot, or encouraging any other criminal or gang activities, we _will_ take action."

"We both will." Karai said firmly, and then gave Bradford a particularly snake-like fang-filled smirk. "And trust me, Jack. If anything like that ever happens, you better pray that they," she gestured to my absolutely terrifying brothers, "find you first."

"She thinks we'll be more merciful because our method would be messy, but fairly quick." Donnie explained helpfully.

Bradford shrunk just a bit more. "U-Understood."

"And now my final, but most important, point of contention." I stepped forward to grab Bradford by his shirt, getting right in his face just so he could see how serious I was about this. This was a point I wasn't going to budge on. "You _will_ be getting rid of that damned concession stand!"

"Aw, but Leo!" Mikey pouted a little at that. "There's cotton candy!"

"It's a dojo, not some cheap theme park!" I exploded in irritation as I released the startled Bradford. "Set up a café out in back, I don't care, but in the dojo itself?! Have at least a modicum of respect for traditions!"

"Okay, okay! Anything you want!" Bradford squeaked. "I will do all those things you said! Please, can I go now?"

I paused, studied him for a moment, then glanced around at my family, noting how they had seemed to accept my judgement. I turned back to Bradford. "Then you agree to the conditions we are demanding?"

Bradford looked relieved, and nodded quickly. "Yes. I promise, I'll go get the treatment as you told me to, and have my assistants start interviews for the proper professionals for my classes at once. If this 'NeoFoot' ever contacts me, rest assured that I shall inform Mistress Karai immediately, and follow her every wish!"

I raised an eyebrow.

"And I'll have my staff start disassembling the food court first thing in the morning!" he quickly added.

I exhale, and then nodded. "Understand that you are very much on probation right now. But, for the moment, I believe that our clan would benefit more by using your strengths and influence towards a goal for good, then wasting it all by focusing our energies on revenge."

"Yes. Understood. Completely! Thank you!" Bradford almost melted in relief, and a little bit of that showman in him appeared once more as he gave a dramatic bowed low. "Your mercy is greatly appreciated, and I will do my best not to disappoint you."

I stood there for a second, eyeing him, and then suddenly I whipped about, and there was a flash of steel.

Bradford froze in place, and stared in disbelief and shock at his own throwing knife, now dangerously embedded into the rooftop only a hair's breath from his hand.

My blue eyes were icy cold as they met his unnerved gaze. "Know this. If I _ever_ hear of you pulling something like what happened tonight again, there is no place you will be able to run and hide. There will be no second chance after tonight."

He stared at my eyes, his mouth agape, then down at the knife by his hand. He swallowed hard, and nodded fearfully, his voice cracking slightly. "Understood."

"Good." I nodded, convinced that the lesson had been taken to heart. "That bit of business completed, now there's only one thing left."

"Wh-what's that?" He licked his dry lips and eyed me nervously.

I reached behind me and pulled out the Program Completion certificate that Principal Williams had given me, handing it to him. "Could you please sign this for me?"

* * *

 **A/N:**

 _Little Leo's internally monologue:_ _Hm. I feel like a piece of me has clicked into place. I feel... more like myself now then ever..._

 _I know! I'm going to give lectures to EVERYBODY!_


	12. The Farmhouse and the Grave

**A/N:** _So I mentioned that I had a canon way that Leo died in mind, and in this chapter, it will be touched upon. I also mentioned that the chapters might not be in order, and in this one, we're going back to the beginning, before Leo started getting all angsty pre-teen-y, to just a few months after the end of In Search of Shadows, when the newness of Chibi-Leo was still fresh. Before the first chapter of this sequel even! I may or may not move it to its proper place in the line up when I eventually upload another chapter._

* * *

**Leo: Age 11**

"Leeeeeoooooo... Yo! Leo! Wake up, bro, we're finally here!"

Mikey's faraway voice slowly filtered down through the dark haze, and I slowly became aware that my face was pressed up against a warm, firm plastron, and a three fingered hand was resting on my back, gently shaking me.

Wait, what?

Groggily, I blinked my eyes open, a little confused. Wait, I had fallen asleep? When exactly had that happened?

"Ah, there you are, bro." Above me, Mikey sounded amused, glancing down at me with his sunny, baby blue eyes. I was wedged between him and Raph in the back seat of the Party Wagon, and apparently at some point in our long road trip, I must have tipped over against him, as I was now firmly snuggled into the side of his shell. Not that he seemed to mind in the least, of course.

"Hm?" I sat up, yawned, and then sleepily rubbed my eyes. "Urgh. Just how long was I asleep?"

"At least a couple hours there, sleeping beauty." Raph reached over to thumb a lock of my black hair out of my eyes fondly.

Sitting across from us, Donnie chuckled. "But did you hear Mikey, Leo? We're here!"

That perked me up. "Oh! Wait! Really?!" I realized what they were telling me, immediately more awake. Mikey laughed as I twisted about and scrambled forward over his lap as best as I could while buckled up to eagerly look out the window.

We were finally here?!

My brothers had told me so many stories about this place, of all the adventures we had had here in my old life, and how they had slowly fixed it up over the years to become a proper vacation destination for them to relax at.

And coming around the bend into view as we drove up the long driveway, I could see a building nestled in a clearing, the multiple coatings of white paint concealing the ancient, weathered wooden siding. There was the shaded porch cradled by the oft-repaired railing, now surrounded by beds of flowers instead of weeds, like I had seen in the old pictures. Ooh! And there was the old, rustic red barn, though now there were several satellite dishes on the roof and wires with blinking lights, which admittably looked rather out of place, but didn't surprise me in the least.

Here it was! The old farmhouse!

Apparently, it had become a yearly tradition in my family to come up here for a few weeks for a well deserved period of unwinding and relaxation. Alien invasions or ninja warlord overthrows permitting, of course. Sometimes scheduling some time off was something of a challenge. But now that I had found them, I got to come with! A whole three weeks of just hanging out here with my family. It was a dream come true!

"So, are you excited, Leo?" Casey, who was currently driving, glanced back at us in the rear view mirror.

I glanced at him, unable to help the smile that threatened the corners of my mouth, and quickly nodded. Of course I was excited! I had never been on a family vacation before. A real family vacation! With the family that I was a part of! Heck, I supposed that I had never been on any vacation period, unless one counted traveling alone across the country, trying to avoid being caught while desperately trying to find shadowy figures from long lost memories.

This farmhouse was a tangible link to my past before us, and I wanted to experience it all, both good and bad.

"Oof. I always forgot just how long of a drive it is to get here." April groaned, rubbing the back of her neck. She was sitting up in the front seat alongside Casey, who had gamely driven almost the entire way. "I hope the water heater is working, I really need a hot shower."

"Like I said, I fixed those problems." Donnie said matter of factly. "The water heater will be quite functional, I assure you."

"That's what you said last year too, Dee." Casey reminded him with some amusement.

"Yes, well, I finally figured out what the issue was, and absolutely fixed it this time!" Dee huffed, slightly offended. "In fact, it should last for decades now without any problems, with all the improvements I added."

"Come on, Leo!" Mikey was already working on unbuckling even as the van was moving up the driveway. "I'll introduce you to Dr. Cluckingsworth the Fourteenth! According to her latest letter, the flock has renovated the hutch with some sweet upgrades, and I can't wait to see what they did with the place."

Ah. Yes. Mikey had told me about his pen pal, the latest clan matriarch of the flock of chickens descended from the original Dr. Cluckingsworth, M.D..

"They better not have made too much of a mess in the barn." Donnie grumbled, putting a hand over mine so I couldn't follow Mikey's example and unbuckle until the van had come to a complete stop. "I still have some important projects in there."

"Just don't run off too far with Leo, Mikey." April turned in her seat to tell him. "We still have a bunch of stuff to unpack first."

Raph looked like he wanted to say something, but instead clenched his jaw slightly and looked out the window. His gaze was wandering towards the woods behind the barn, I noticed.

I knew that my Red Brother had some reservations about bringing me here, to the farmhouse, so soon and while I was still so young. Mostly because of what I knew lay in the direction of those woods.

To be honest, I privately wasn't quite sure how to feel about it either. But I was pretty sure I had done a fairly solid job of keeping any hints of uncertainty or uneasiness to myself. There was no need to worry my brothers any further, they were already nervous enough!

Casey finally brought the van up in front of the old, wooden porch, and the side door was flung open and Mikey was bolting out before the vehicle had even finished rolling to a stop. "Freeeedom!" he hooted happily, running across the grassy yard with his arms up in the air.

In his defense, we had been stuck in the back of the van for a _very_ long time.

"Farm sweet farm!" Casey sang out, shifting the vehicle to the 'Officially Parked' status despite already losing one passenger, finally turning the key to kill the engine, and leaning back in his seat to reach up and crick his neck.

"Oh! Is that the pond over there?" I peered eagerly out the window, then twisted to finally unbuckle, eager to get out and see all the sights. "We can go swimming together later, right?!"

"Of course! That's why we bought swimming trunks for you." April chuckled fondly, obviously glad to see me excited as she opened the door and stepped out, stretching. "Just remember, Leo, I don't want you swimming without one of us nearby."

"Yup. Safety first, Sensei." I agreed with her absently, too busy bolting out of the van and turning around excitedly to look around. Everything looked so familiar, eking out distant and faint forgotten memories. Oh, how I wanted to remember everything!

Donnie emerged from the van behind me, followed by a still rather hesitant Raph. The relief they felt as they stretched was fairly tangible, my large turtle brothers didn't fit in the back of the van quite as well as they had in their younger teenaged days.

"Right, let's get things unloaded." Donnie nodded, reaching up to start unstrapping the massive pile of suitcases tied down to the roof of the van. "Raph, give me a hand here."

"Donnie! DonnieDonnieDonnie! _DEEEEEE-CHAN_!" Mikey came running around the corner of the barn, holding aloft a chicken with a massively oversized bulging brain over his head excitedly as he ran across the yard towards us. The large-brained chicken held aloft in his hands looked rather startled, but otherwise seemed apparently okay with going along for the ride. "I found Dr. Cluckingsworth the Fourteenth! She has a new clutch of baby chicks in the nest, and they're totes adorbs! I NEED to take Leo over to see them _right now_!"

"Oh! Well, congratulations!" Donnie nodded his greeting to the chicken, who clucked in return. "That's wonderful news, you must be so proud! Of course we'll all go over to meet them, just give us a second to unpack first."

"Oh!" Mikey tucked the chicken under his arm. "And she said the water heater broke again. Just to let you know."

" **WHAT**?!"

* * *

So for the next few hours, a very angry and personally offended Donnie was holed up in the basement, disassembling and reassembling the water heater, surrounded by tools and muttering dark threats about scrap metal and junkyards under his breath, while the rest of us unloaded the van and met a nest of adorable, yet disturbingly big brained little chicks

So that's how I learned that apparently the Cluckingsworth descendants had multiplied over the year, creating a flock that was now over twenty chickens strong, and here, hidden on the farm, they had created their own little unique super-genius chicken culture.

The Cluckingsworths themselves seemed to be rather fond of my brothers, to the degree that, at times, it almost seemed to border on total and complete reverence. Mikey especially seemed to be the favorite. Or, at least, I assumed so, from the way they followed him around. Their chicken faces didn't exactly hold a lot of expressions, and I couldn't exactly tell what all their clucks and 'buw-kas' meant. Fortunately, Mikey seemed to understand them just fine, and translated as necessary.

As fond as the mutated chickens were of my brothers, they seemed to merely tolerate the human companions for their sake, and it seemed like I now fell into that particular category, reincarnated brother or not. At first, they made me a little nervous when they all started crowded tightly around me, eyeing me with those rather hard-to-read-but-still-somehow-judgmental beady chicken eyes. I learned that day that chickens could be surprisingly intimidating! But then Mikey knelt down beside me and introduced us properly, and while they seemed somewhat skeptical that I was indeed a Hamato, they still seemed to accept that I was one of the good humans and an ally, and so quickly lost interest in me, wandering off with the occasional scratch and peck at the ground. They really only seemed to be interested in turtles, which made for an extremely adorable scene involving Raph when it came time to meet the baby chicks. Hee! Red Brother was so big and the little balls of yellow fluff held in his hands were so tiny!

Finally, though, Donnie came back up, brushing cobwebs off of his shell and declaring that he had most definitely fixed the water heater this time for good, and reminding us that we had to finish unpacking. We left the Cluckingsworths to their coop, and I eagerly rode Raph's shell as we headed towards the house.

"Man, those little fluffballs were cute, but I can't wait to get the rest of this vacation going!" Casey stretched as he walked beside us. "I've been looking forward to this for weeks!"

"This is going to be so awesome, Leo!" Mikey eagerly bounced around me and Raph, his blue eyes sparkling. "Bro, we're going to have so much fun, I can't WAIT! There's going to be campfires and s'mores and climbing trees and nature walks and picnics and etc."

I grinned widely, reaching down to hug Raph's head. "I know! Everything here seems so familiar! I can't wait to do everything with you guys!"

"Well, it shouldn't take us very long to get settled in, and we still have a few hours until supper." April mused thoughtfully, walking hand in hand with Donnie.

"So we'll have some time to explore this afternoon if you'd like, Leo." My purple brother finished her thought, looking at me excitedly. "Did you want to take advantage of the beautiful weather and go swimming? Or maybe you'd like a full tour of the farm first?"

"Hm." I looked thoughtfully around the farm from my perch on Raph's shoulder, taking in the breeze and all the sights and eagerly considering all the possibilities. As far as I was concerned, this was my brothers' annual summer vacation that they went on every year, and now that I was here, I was just tagging along, eager to see what amazing ride they'd take me on. I crossed my arms on top of Raph's head, resting my chin thoughtfully on them as I grinned happily down at my family. "Well, what's the first thing you guys normally do when you get here?"

I was expecting laughs and eager retellings of incidents like an annoyed Raph chucking Mikey into into the pond because he was so hyper after such a long car ride, or Casey immediately challenging Donnie to a drag race, or something of that nature.

But instead, there was a pause as Raph slowed down, and, a little confused, I looked down to see that everybody had suddenly gone silent. Even Mikey was rubbing his arm and gnawing at his lip, as if he were trying to think of some diversion to change the subject.

Hm? Oh.

Oh right.

And then it struck me. Of course, the first thing my brothers would've done when they arrived each summer would be to go and visit the ones they missed the most.

I paused for a moment, thinking that over.

Was that something I was ready to do?

Hm. Well, to be honest, I was sort of surprising myself by how chill I was feeling about this right now. In the weeks leading up to this vacation, there had been a lot of debate among my family, usually when they thought I wasn't listening, as to whether this was even a good idea. We were going to be visiting what was basically my grave, after all. Besides the whole 'That's a rather morbid and possibly disturbing concept to lay at an eleven year old child's feet', there was also the fact that none of us were really sure how this whole 'reincarnation' deal worked, including myself. Who knew if there was some sort of spiritual connection still there that we might unwittingly uncover. I know that each of my family held some reservations about taking me there, Raph especially had been vocal about taking our vacation somewhere else other then the farmhouse, and had only relented when I made it clear how eager I was to see the farm. Still, I had spent many hours wondering how I'd feel, and worrying about it, secretly, of course.

But now that I was actually here? It was strange, but all the anxiety that I had internally held had melted away completely. I felt calm and at peace. I was here with my brothers, and that's where I always would be.

"Hm." I mused, tapping my chin thoughtfully on my perch. "Yeah. That would be a good place to start. I suppose it would be rude to keep Master Splinter waiting."

"Uh.. You sure about this, Leo?" Raph swallowed hard, then reached up and lifted me off his shoulders, instead shifting me around to hold me look at me with troubled eyes. "This... this isn't something that we have to do right now, y'know."

I nodded, and gave him a slight, reassuring smile as I touched his hand. "I know. I'm fine, Raph. Honestly."

"Leo... How can you just...? It's... it's... You know." Raph gritted his teeth. "An' you're just a kid right now. I... I just..." I could almost see him searching for the right phrase to say 'I don't want you to get psychologically traumatized?'. He swallowed hard. "We... we don't have to do this now. We can always come back when you're older."

"Yeah, dude." Mikey moved up to chafe my jeans in a gesture of solidarity. "If you want, we could even take some stuff over there for you on your behalf, if you're feeling any tiny bit uncomfortable about this. It's no big deal if you feel that way, bro!"

Donnie nodded. "That's definitely something we could do for you, while you help April and Casey unpack. That way, you can still leave an offering or a note to Master Splinter if you want, but at the same time give yourself room to process everything."

I shook my head. "It's okay guys. I really would like to go see it. That place, I mean."

Raph's brow furrowed with concern as he studied me, obviously not convinced.

April let go of Donnie's hand and walked up in front of Raph, gesturing for him to put me down. He paused for a moment, then exhaled and did so, setting me on the ground next to her.

She knelt down and took my face in her hands, looking at me seriously. "Leo. Are you certain you're okay with this? It's okay if you need some time."

I gave her a reassuring smile, and nodded. "I'm okay Sensei. Don't worry! I tend the shrines back home now as well, if you remember."

"Yeah, well... okay." April exhaled, and put a hand on my shoulder. "Just remember that we're right here with you, and if you ever feel uncomfortable, we can always leave. Your brothers can leave any offerings or say any prayers on your behalf, if you want them to."

"I know. But I want to do this." I nodded, looking up at my family earnestly. "Should we go get the offerings?"

* * *

My brothers stayed close to me, and April and Casey kept throwing concerned looks my way, but they were all obviously trying (unsuccessfully) to hid their worries. We gathered up the proper candles, incense, and offerings, and I followed my family across the grassy yard towards the barn.

My stomach fluttered, but I kept my face calm. This was okay. I was okay.

We turned around the bend, and there it was...

Nestled under the spread branches of a large tree, two tombstones sat side by side. Both were beautifully crafted in a Japanese manner, with the sigil of the Hamato clan etched into the stone. One had the figure of a wise rat carved on top. Master Splinter. And the other... The other gravestone was that of a turtle holding two swords.

Huh.

So... this was a thing.

I felt my family crowd in a little closer around me, and I realized that I was being very closely watched, all ready just in case I needed support or got emotional or, I don't know, whatever could happen to a reincarnated soul visiting the grave of their former life? I didn't know what they expected to happen.

Heck. I didn't know what _I_ expected to happen!

That... that was _my_ grave.

From my old life, yes, but still... that... that had once been me.

I swallowed hard, and took a step forward, tilting my head a little as I studied the headstone shaded from the bright sunshine by the leaves of the tree above.

It was a simple black stone, matching that of our father's, though instead of a rat, there was a carved turtle kneeling on top, holding two katanas. It was a simple carving, yet there was still somehow a strength in just looking at it, the pose somehow exuding the calm determination of a warrior. Below the warrior, on the base, was carved the Hamato symbol carved into it, as well as my name, and a date from over eleven years ago.

I studied the grave in front of me, and tried to figure out how I felt about this. Well... I supposed it was strange and just a little unsettling seeing my name carved onto a headstone. And there was an odd feeling deep in my soul... a slight stirring at the sight.

But... overall...

It was... surprisingly peaceful.

Of all the ways I thought I might react or feel, this... this feeling wasn't it.

In this place, in this grove of trees, there was a calm, serene, and tranquil energy all around us. It was like the sunshine on a warm spring's day, the gentle rhythm of a summer rain, the rustle of swirling leaves in the autumn, and the silver moon peering down on the white frosted world in winter, all rolled into one feeling, one aura. It was almost tangible, and it was permeating everywhere. In the soft, thick green grass underfoot. In the gentle rustle of the sunkissed leaves above as a summer breeze drifted through the branches of the tree above. In the hum of a cicada singing off in the distance, and the bubbling creek flowing somewhere off further in the woods.

It was as if there was a sense of finally being able to complete a task left undone. Not quite yet, there was still a hint of longing I hadn't even realized was there deep down inside, not so much a restless energy but a wistful one. But, being here now... looking upon that grave, I could almost tangibly feel that ancient bond between the cycles of life and death that had repeated since time began

The thought idly crossed my mind that this grove of trees would have been a very nice place to rest.

A hesitant hand brushed against my shoulder, and I blinked, then glanced up to see Raph's concerned face looking down at me.

I gave a small half smile up at him reassuringly and nodded. "I'm fine."

He studied me closely. "Ya... ya sure?"

I nodded, then took a deep breath, still feeling the energy around us, and drawing strength and serenity from it, and moved to gather the supplies we brought.

It was time to properly honor the family members who were gone, but never truly lost.

* * *

It was late at night, their very first night at the farm together as a family again, and Donnie couldn't sleep.

Ah, the joys of being an insomniac.

Dozens of different trains of thought were running through his genius brain all at the same time as he sat at the kitchen table, absently tinkering with the coffee maker at an ungodly hour of the morning, the light hanging above him the only light source in the dark house. Of course, it was par for the course for his brain to generally be a multi-lane highway of different ideas, that's just the way his brain worked, but on nights like these, it was as if those thoughts no longer obeyed any traffic laws, and he was left unable to stop them or direct the flow.

As always, it was rather annoying when it happened.

April, bless her amazing heart, was always good at helping him sort through the mess of thoughts, soothing and untangling the mess enough that he could eventually conk out. But tonight, when he checked on her, she was already sound asleep, and had looked so peaceful and adorable snuggled under the blankets that he hadn't had the heart to wake her. Thus, he had come down here hoping for a cup of coffee, because if he was going to be up, then he was going to caffeinated and productive. That had turned into a project of its own, as in the process of preparing the coffee, he noticed that the coffee maker, while functional, wasn't operating just as efficiently and smoothly as it could. And thus now here he was, with a disassembled coffee maker in hand, kept company only by a particularly annoying and stupid moth flittering around the kitchen light, and his brain going a million miles an hour in all directions. Bleh. Tonight, it was actually getting to the point that he was half tempted to try some of the meditation techniques that Master Splinter had shown him in his younger days to help try and quiet some of them.

And the very idea of meditation looped all his genius racing thought-roads right back to Leo.

His so-very-confusing little/big brother.

Donnie sighed, and squinted as he used a soldering iron to rework the wiring and innards of the coffee maker.

Did they make the right decision bringing him here? Raph obviously didn't think so, but Leo had wanted to come. And... and Leo had good judgement. He might be a tiny, vulnerable, (admittedly adorable), oh-so-very-delicate human child now, but he was still Leo, right? So what was Donnie even worried about? Of course Leo would know what his own limits were, what he could handle and what would be too overwhelming for his still-developing prepubescent and impressionable child's brain and Oh, by the grace of Leonhard Euler, who was he kidding?! Leo was so going to be traumatized for life by this! What were they thinking, taking an eleven year old child to basically visit his own GRAVE?! Leo was depending on his brothers to help guide him safely through his second chance, this new life of his, and only six months into this new responsibility, they had already probably scarred him for life! They were terrible at this!

Though...

Leo hadn't _looked_ terribly traumatized by it, so maybe things were okay? He had been a little quiet and reflective the rest of the afternoon, but, if Donnie was honest with himself, that was too be expected. How could one NOT face a little self-reflection after seeing something like that? And it had been more of a contemplative quiet, instead of a 'Oh gods, I'm going to need therapy for YEARS after this!' quiet.

...

Donnie decided that he should probably research child-based psychological therapy and treatments when they got back and he had proper internet access again. Just in case.

Hm... why wasn't this screw fitting back into its slot correctly? Donnie was sure it was the right one, he had a system, after all, but it just didn't seem to want to... Ah, there it goes... And done. Coffee maker improved and reassembled, ready to produce that black liquid ambrosia come morning.

Donnie sighed and pushed the coffee maker away, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his tired eyes.

If he were honest with himself, part of his problem was that he was just too darn RATIONAL sometimes. What Leo had managed to pull off, coming back to them, was nothing less then a miracle, and nothing about it made any scientific sense. Donnie had been given back his older brother. He had been given a second chance. And yet he was still terrified that he was going to wake up, and Leo was going to be gone again. That he'd still be dead, with the body laying in that grave the only version that was real, because there was no way that Leo coming back could be real, obviously it was all just some dream, or wonderful hallucination or something.

Donnie worried the inside of his lip.

Hm. Last he saw Leo, his little/big brother was curled up on Mikey's plastron as their orange brother cuddled with him and read him bedtime stories. They were both probably sleeping now, but... but maybe Donnie would take a quick moment to check on Leo. Make sure he was warm enough and comfortable and that Mikey hadn't left his socks on after he fell asleep.

Leo hated sleeping with his socks on.

Donnie pushed back the chair, stood up with a grimace, and cracked his neck. Then he turned towards the stairs and started for the bedroom that Mikey, Raph, Casey, and Leo were sharing.

Oh. The bedroom door was open already? Donnie peeked in. Casey was sprawled all over an air mattress they had put in the corner for him, and all Donnie could really make out in that tangle was an arm and a mass of long black hair draped over his face as he snored. Raph had his own futon spread out near the only bed in the room, near the foot so Leo or Mikey wouldn't sleepily step on him as they got out of bed. Mikey had a futon too, next to Raph's, but, predictably, he had apparently fallen asleep while reading to Leo, and was currently sprawled on the bed, snuggled under the blanket.

Donnie frowned. The blanket was carefully pulled up and tucked under the sleeping orange turtles chin, but Donnie couldn't see any child-sized lump underneath it.

He carefully stepped into the room, brow furrowing as he took a closer look.

Nope. Leo definitely wasn't where he should be, snuggled up to and sleeping on Mikey's plastron. Donnie quickly scoured the room. Hm. No Leo in sight. He thought for a moment, then quickly stepped out to check the other rooms. Nope, April was still sleeping, with no signs of Leo in there. And he had walked past the open door of the bathroom on the way here, and it had definitely looked empty.

Feeling a quell of panic, but trying to shove it down with logic, Donnie went back to the boys room and reached down to nudge Mikey awake.

Mikey grunted, made a face, then yawned sleepily, glancing up at Donnie through sleep-fogged eyes. "Huh? Wha...? Dee?"

"Mikey, where's Leo?" Donnie whispered, concerned.

"Hm?" Mikey blinked groggily, then glanced down at his own plastron, confused. "Leo?" Then he seemed to wake up more, and sat up, pulling aside the blanket as he looked about him. "I don't know! He was just here, sleeping! Where did he go?!"

"Ergh... what's going on here?" A three fingered hand grasped the brass bars at the foot of the bed, and Raph's grumpy gaze rose up from the floor to sleepily glare at them over the foot of the bed frame. "What are you two doing?"

"I think Leo's wandered off somewhere." Mikey whisper-splained, swinging his feet around to sit up on the bed, now wide awake.

Raph yawned. "Ya sure he's not just off taking a piss or something?"

"Yes, Raph, I'm sure." Donnie rolled his eyes.

"Hm. Well, shit." Raph frowned, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and looking around, getting a bit concerned. He nodded towards the snoring pile of rumpled blankets and long black hair in the corner. "Should we wake up April and Casey?"

Donnie shook his head. "He's probably not far. I was just wondering where he was, I don't think it's an emergency or anything." At least, he hoped, anyways. "I'll go look for him, you two can go back to sleep."

Mikey snorted, standing up and wrapping the blanket around his shoulders. "As if, Dee. Gotta find my chibi bro first!"

Raph gave a grunt as he stood up as well. "Yeah, I'm going too. Let's go figure out where he wandered off to."

* * *

It didn't take the three brothers very long to figure out that Leo was not in the house. It also didn't take them long to notice that the back door was unlatched and left open a crack.

A little confused and worried, they stepped out and glanced around. The moonlight was bright above, the silvered hue illuminating the edges of the barn and trees, while at the same time contrasting sharply with the shadows of night seeping between every branch and under every eaves. Fireflies blinked on and off, dancing through the air across the field of grass like hundreds of small fairies, and the thrum of crickets filled the air.

Donnie quickly noticed something, and frowned. "Look." He directed their attention towards the long grass. Somebody had walked through the dew-covered blades, leaving behind a darkened path. "He must have gone that way."

And then Donnie's heart dropped in his chest as he realized that the path in the dewy grass was heading straight towards the graves. Oh... Oh no. Oh, Leo!

Just what was going through his little/big brother's mind? Was he really this troubled by their visit here? Why didn't he say something then?! He kept saying that he was fine! Argh! Why did their brother keep insisting on bearing his burdens alone?!

"Oh. Oh crap. Leo." Mikey groaned, running his hands over his face, apparently coming to the same conclusions. "Quit bottling up emotions inside if they bother you this much! We want to help you, bro!"

"Yeah, well, I knew this was a bad idea." Raph said darkly, stomping forward towards the barn, and the grove of trees that lay beyond it. "I knew it was too soon for him."

Donnie exhaled, and quickly moved to follow.. "Let's go make sure he's okay, get him inside and back to bed."

"With all the snuggles required by the situation properly applied." Mikey hurried to keep up with Raph's fast stalking through the firefly-infested field.

Raph continued to push forward towards the barn, hands clenched as he growled. "And then, first thing in the morning, I vote we pack back up, and go take our little vacation someplace else. Don't care where, just a place where Leo won't have to worry... about..." He trailed off, then paused, frowning as he noticed a blue glow emanating from around the barn. "Uhhh... What the hell?"

Mikey trotted up next to him, noticing the light and wrinkling his snout in confusion. "What is that?" He glanced at his brothers. "Did somebody get Leo a flashlight with a blue tinted lightbulb or something?"

"Well, I didn't make him one that glows blue like that." Donnie frowned as he moved forward, the other two resuming as well to follow him. "Just a normal white LED... lamp..."

They rounded the corner, and then all three of them instantly froze, rooted in place and mouths dropping open in complete and utter shock.

Leo was indeed there, kneeling in front of the turtle warrior's headstone, sitting calmly in a relaxed seiza posture. He was quiet and still with closed eyes, looking to all the world like he was still asleep.

But what had the three brothers gaping with their mouths open, what left them staring in breathless wonder, was the blue aura that was currently completely engulfing and surrounding him, leaving him sitting in the midst of a ghost-like blue energy that expanded around him to create a very distinct and heartbreakingly familiar profile. The blue turtle spirit form, his wispy glow softly contrasting with the dark night shadows around them, was kneeling and studying the memorial stone in front of him with a curious and almost wistful look on his semi-transparent turtle face.

Donnie could only stare alongside his equally frozen and dumbfounded brothers, half mesmerized, half frozen in fear, gawking at this completely unexpected scene before them. He was too afraid to speak, or even to move. He was terrified that if he moved, or even made the slightest noise, then perhaps the spell would shatter, and this hauntingly familiar ghost of their beloved brother would once again evaporate into the early morning mists.

From the stiff body language and slightly panicked breathing besides him, his two brothers were running through a very similar stupefied and terrified gamuts of emotions.

But after a few minutes of soundless and stunned gawking, where nobody dared to even breath too hard, the spirit turtle turned glance at them.

Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods! He was looking right at them! Leo's ghost (ohmahgosh, it's totally Leo's ghost, what do with this info?!) could apparently SEE them!

He gave them a warm, fond smile, and gestured towards the ground close to him, obviously inviting them to take a seat beside him.

Donnie swallowed hard, flexing and unflexing his fingers hesitantly. He dared a side glance at his brothers, and they looked at one another hesitantly. Then, all obviously feeling a little spooked, they haltingly stepped forward and gingerly sat on the ground beside the blue spirit turtle, Donnie and Mikey on one side, and Raph settling on the other.

There was a long moment of silence as they sat there in front of the grave, each obviously too scared to look directly at the spirit, but too terrified to look completely away, so each trying to sneak looks out of the corners of their eyes. Finally, Donnie couldn't take it anymore. He licked his dry lips, his hands clenched tightly, and he dared to turn his head and look.

His breath seemed to catch in his throat as he stared at the features of the ghost beside him, looking upon a face he never thought he'd ever see again.

He was looking right at Leo... though he was now comprised of whatever blue energy was emanating from Little Human Leo's apparently sleep-walking form. Maybe this energy was a physical manifestation of ki? That would definitely be right up Leo's alley. He had always been talking about life energy and ki and all that spiritual stuff, and there's little doubt that Leo's ki, if such a thing existed, would be blue, and... and stoppit, brain! Analyzing time could come later, because right now... right now, adult, mutant turtle Leo was sitting _right there_ , looking much the same as he did back when... Back before...

Donnie had to fight back the ragged whine that wanted to break out. Dimly, he could sense that Raph and Mikey were still struggling to figure out what to do or how to react as well. All around them, there was only the sounds of the breeze through the leaves and grass and the insects chirping. The air around them was thick with dancing fireflies that winked in and out of existence in the dark, twilight shadows, filling the night world with a sort of mystic, ethereal ambience.

And then the silence was broken, surprisingly by the spirit himself. "This is a beautiful place." the ghostly turtle finally said, almost conversationally, lifting his head to look up at the tree branches gently rustled by the breeze above them. "It's very calm. Peaceful." He turned to glance at his brothers, a small, shy smile on his ghostly features. "I... I like it very much. Thank you."

Donnie's eyes widened, and he stiffened. That... that wasn't their Chibi Leo's child voice coming from the ghost. That was the low, adult voice of their brother from another lifetime ago. It took Donnie back so hard, it staggered him.

And, from the way that the other two stiffened and made slight choking noises in the backs of their throats, they agreed.

"Uhhhh... yeah. G-glad you like it, bro." Mikey finally squeaked nervously. He fidgeted in place, obviously fighting the urge to just leap upon the ghost and try and hug him, which probably wouldn't work anyways. Mikey probably had enough good sense to realize that Turtle!Leo was probably not very corporeal right now, and that Chibi!Leo at his center was most likely sleeping and waking him up would end this dream for all of them. He instead thrummed his fingers rapidly on his knees, before glancing back up at Leo uncertainly, his gaze switching between the ghost's face and the human child still very real and set in the center of that blue energy. "Uh... just making sure... Are... are you okay?"

Leo gave a calm, gentle chuckle. "I'm fine, Mikey, both physically and spiritually." He glanced down at his center, and Donnie wondered how weird that must be, to basically look upon yourself. The spirit shrugged, and looked back up at them. "Think of this as... spiritual sleepwalking, I guess. Maybe not the most restful of sleep, but well worth it, and still, no more harmful then a vivid dream." He sighed, his voice growing wistful. "I... I just wanted a chance to... to finally do something that I was never given the opportunity to do in my old life."

"What's... that?" Mikey hesitantly asked.

The turtle spirit looked at them sadly. "Say goodbye."

"Fuck..." Raph choked in a hoarse whisper, almost an involuntary response.

"Leo..." Mikey breathed, eyes wide.

Leo turned his attention back to the gravestone, his voice low and quiet. "That night... Everything happened so fast. I... I never got the chance to tell you guys goodbye." He paused, then turned back to them, his ghostly eyes soft as he gave a wry grin. "Though I guess that it's never a permanent goodbye when it comes to us. It never has been. We are always four. Blue, Red, Purple, and Orange. Always."

Donnie's head whipped around to stare at Leo in disbelief. Raph was watching with wide eyes, his muscles tense, and his jaw working slightly back and forth, as if he wanted to speak, but was too emotional to.

Was... was he saying that...?

Mikey swallowed hard. "Always... always four." he mulled the phrase over his tongue, obviously awed by the thought.

Leo smiled and nodded. "Always and forever." Then he turned back to the grave in front of him. For a long moment, they all fell into silence again.

And then Donnie couldn't take it anymore. "I... I'm sorry, Leo!" Donnie blurted out before he could lose his nerve, the words he had longed with every fiber of his being to say for eleven years now rushing out in an emotional flood. "I'm so sorry!"

The blue spirit blinked, and turned to look at Donnie, confused. "What on earth for?"

"I..." Tears began to form in Donnie's eyes against his will, and he quickly wiped them away with an arm. "It was all my fault! I should've known that there might be a possibility of snipers eventually. And... and yet I only used a basic windshield and left you unprotected. It... It was so stupid of me! I armored up everything else on the van, why didn't I install bulletproof glass?!"

Leo raised a blue spectral eyeridge. "Uh... Maybe because bulletproof glass doesn't usually end up in your run of the mill junkyard, and it would've been extremely hard for us to find and collect? You made wonderful things for us out of ordinary trash, Donnie, you can't blame yourself for not having access to certain materials."

"That doesn't make a difference!" Donnie growled, clenching his hands. "I could've made something myself that would provide more protection, or raided a military scrapyard. Heck, we had access to alien technology! I could've done SOMETHING. I... I should have..."

"Donnie, stop." Leo said softly, and Donnie's beak snapped closed as he obeyed, instead taking deep, shaky breaths through his nose. The blue turtle spirit studied Donnie's face for a moment with a quiet, heartbroken understanding, and gave a sad smile. "Donnie. Listen to me. It wasn't your fault." He looked around at each one of them, from Raph's hunched shoulders to Mikey's shaking form, and his transparent face was gentle but serious. "Not for one minute did I blame any of you. I know without a shadow of a doubt that each one of you would have moved mountains themselves if you thought it would save me or, failing that, gladly given your lives in my stead, if you could. What happened wasn't any of your faults, my brothers. We couldn't possibly live our lives wrapped completely in armor and protective bubble wrap at all times. Something was bound to happen eventually." He exhaled, and looked down at his transparent hands. "I'm just thankful that none of you were hurt in the crash that followed."

"Does... does Little Leo... remember that night?" Mikey asked, concerned, glancing at the human child, who was kneeling within the blue glow molded around him with eyes closed, seeming to be in an almost in a sleep-like trance. "He always keeps things so cooped up inside, I can't tell. He... he doesn't have nightmares about it, does he?"

"No." Leo shook his head, and gave a small smile, placing a three fingered hand on his transparent, ghostly plastron and looking down almost curiously at himself within. "Most of my dreams revolve around you three, and when awake, I only have fleeting glimpses of my past, not full memories. Subconsciously, yes, the memories are all there, but normally they remain locked away, out of reach." He shrugged and looked up at them. "Fear not. If I regain any memories of my old life as the years go on, most likely it will be the things I long to remember, and what I long to remember more than anything is not my death, but my life. You three, most of all."

"I... I love ya, Leo." Raph suddenly burst out in a hoarse voice, almost choking out the words like he had been trying to force them out for some time now, and only just now managed to do so.

Leo turned to look at him, blinking in surprise.

Raph immediately bunched down defensively, his hands clenching tightly, before tilting his head slightly to look up to Leo with an almost pleading look on his face. "I know I never ever really said it out loud. And yeah, we fought all tha time over stupid stuff. But... but you were still mah brother, and I loved you. Ya... ya knew that, right? Please tell me you knew that. B-before ya..." He trailed off, and his gaze was drawn unbidden to the grass covered grave, as if drawing attention to that final place of rest before them finished his sentence for him.

"I knew." Leo said quietly, and Raph exhale of relief at those words was almost a sob. "I never doubted it for one moment, Raph." Then his mouth curved into a wistful, understanding smile. "And I love you too, Raph." He swallowed hard, then looked around at them, tears of glowing blue forming in his eyes. "I love all of you guys, so very much."

"Oh, Leo, we love you too, big brother!" Mikey sniffled, tears forming up in his eyes again. "Y'know, this would be the perfect moment for a tearful and heartfelt family group hug, but... y'know..." He looked at Leo's transparent form longingly.

"Yeah, it's not the best idea right now." Leo agreed. "Feel free to give me one tomorrow, though I'll probably be rather confused as to the cause of it. I probably won't remember any of this when I wake up. Still, it's not like I'll complain about a group hug from you guys in the slightest, even if I'm unsure of why I'm getting it." Leo looked amused for a second, then sighed and looked around at them with a wistful smile. "Though, that said, I'm afraid that the dream will have to end soon. I have probably already pushed things further then I should have, so don't be surprised if I'm a little tired and groggy come morning."

All three of the brothers stiffened again, realizing that of course this wonderful night couldn't last forever.

"Oh..." Donnie whispered quietly. Then he worried his lip for a moment, before looking up at his ghostly older brother for any hints of reassurance. "Will... will we ever see you again?"

Leo blinked in surprised, then laughed in amusement. "Donnie, you see me every day now! I finally found you, remember?"

"Oh." Donnie straightened up at the thought. "Oh, yeah! Huh."

Raph swallowed hard, then looked over at Leo. "Leo?" He rubbed his arm awkwardly, looking away. "Uh... Thank you..."

"Always, my brothers." Leo gave a soft, fond smile, looking around at all three of them. "I promise. You will always be my little brothers, and I will always protect you, no matter what." He paused, then his following exhale held just a hint of annoyed frustration. "Though you might need to be a little patient with me in that regard. I unfortunately now have a bit of growing up to do first."

Donnie sniffed, and rolled his eyes. "Leo, our relationship is not in the slightest degree dependent on your bodyguard abilities. We love you because you're our brother, and it just so happens that we are quite enjoying the chance to see you being an innocent child."

"Totally! Chill out, big brother, and let us enjoy taking care of you for once." Mikey agreed wholeheartedly. "Just enjoy being a kid! You're totally adorable!"

Leo paused, then frowned and looked as if he were mulling that concept over. Finally he looked up at them and admitted with a helpless, sheepish shrug, "You... uh... might need to help me with that."

"Oh, count me on that duty. That's, like, my calling in life!" Mikey snickered through tears, then cleared his throat. "So... uh... Leo... Is... Is there anything that you want us to remember or pass on? For when you, y'know, wake up?"

Leo gave him a grateful, almost shy look. "Could... could you tell April thank you for me? For... for everything that she's done. I think she makes an amazing sensei." He chewed his lip for a second. "And... and Casey. Tell him that I'm... I'm very proud of the man he's become." He sudden gave a small, amused chuckle, and glanced at his brothers, eyes twinkling. "And also please warn him most sternly on my behalf that now that I'm a child, I look up to him, so he better be aware that he's acting as a role model for me, and to act accordingly."

"Oh there's a terrifying thought." Donnie snickered.

"Placing responsibility on Casey Jone's shoulders?!" Mikey gasped in horrified sarcasm. "You know that in Casey's mind, that basically means he's going to take beer connoisseurship to a whole new sophisticated level. Nothing but the finest and best quality liquors for his little man!"

"He is NOT going to teach Leo how to drink alcoholic beverages!" Donnie squeaked in horror, already imagining it. "At least, not until he's at least twenty one!"

Leo laughed (oh, it was so wonderful to hear that laugh!), and then lifted a ghostly hand and theorized in a know-it-all tone, "And you just know that on that day, I'm going to take one drink and immediately start choking on it, but I don't want to spit it out because it's a drink that Raph and Casey had so proudly picked out just for me, so I'll try to force myself to just tough it out and somehow swallow it, but fail entirely and instead end up spewing it out of my nose or something."

And that was it for Mikey. He fell forward onto the ground, covering his head and giggling like a hyena at the thought. Donnie found himself laughing despite himself as well. Raph... didn't quite laugh, but his bunched up shoulders did relax ever so slightly. The look he gave Leo was full of so many emotions that it was hard to pick just one out.

They all seemed to relax then, and it felt just like old, happier times just then. Back when all four of them were young and cocky and somewhat naive to the true tragedies of the world. Back when they thought that they were all somehow invincible.

Well, they knew better now, didn't they?

The laughter and light feelings slowly faded away again, and the four of them sat there for a while again in the night breeze, in front of the grave.

Donnie glanced down and studied the small human child encased in blue energy. He still appeared to be sleeping, and looked calm and peaceful now. But Donnie still remembered back when they had first discovered him, how lost and alone and... and desperate he had looked then. Well, now that they had the attention of Leo's subconscious, perhaps he could help his brother with more then goodbyes. "Leo..." He waited until the ghostly face turned its attention on him, and then began carefully. "You... you know that you don't have to worry, right? We're here for you, all of us. Raph, Mikey, and I, as well as April and Casey. All of us are your family, and we will always be there for you if you ever need us. Now that we found you, we'll never, ever let you be alone again."

Leo blinked, then was very quiet for a long moment, studying his hands in his lap. Finally, he nodded. "Thank you." he whispered.

And with the sound of crickets filling the night summer air, filled with dancing fireflies, the four brothers sat together for a while in silence.

* * *

I felt tired, my mind hazy and sleepy as I slowly realized that was no longer in bed. Where... where was I? It almost felt like I was outside, but I could sense my Red, Purple, and Orange shadows around me, so I knew I was safe, wherever I was.

My eyes groggily blinking open, I looked up to see that I was being carried by my red brother, with stars and night clouds drifting above us. "R-Raph?" I sleepily mumbled, then looked over to see Mikey and Donnie walking through the grass besides him. "Guys? Why... why are we outside?"

I felt so tired, but, at the same time, so inexplicably happy and content, like I had just accomplished something amazing. Which... I dunno, was kind of weird. I didn't remember doing anything really except going to bed.

"It's okay, Leo." I felt Purple Brother's hand soothe down my hair. "We're here."

"You were just... kinda sleepwalking." Mikey added. "But we found you quickly enough, and everything's good."

What? Sleepwalking? Funny, I don't remember ever doing that before. And... and my brothers's voices sounded kind of thick and emotional. Had... had they been crying?

But... their auras around me felt so happy that I wasn't too worried.

If they were happy, then I was happy.

And tired. Actually really, really tired. I don't think I could stay awake if I wanted to.

But I was safe in my brothers' arms, so it was okay to go back to sleep for now.

And so I snuggled back down into my brother's strong arms, letting him carry me as I drifted back off to sleep.

* * *

"Uh... guys?" The sound of Casey calling up the stairs filtered down through my brain, breaking through the fog of sleep and waking me up. "Since when did the coffee maker have a radio installed in it?" There was a pause. "At least... I think it's a radio?"

My eyes groggily blinked open as I became aware of my surroundings. At first, I wasn't sure where I was, the room looked completely unfamiliar, but then I remembered. Oh... that's right. We were at the farmhouse. And... apparently, judging from my position, at some point during the night, I was buried in a protective pile of turtle brothers.

"Ghhhhh..." I felt a shell shift underneath me as Mikey moved. "What time is it?"

I blinked, and suddenly realized that sunlight was streaming through the cloth of the blue curtains covering the windows. I pushed aside Raph's arm that had at some point flopped across me, and quickly bolted upright. Wait, just how late was it?! Why was I still sleeping this late?! I was going to miss training!

"Ngth." Raph's hand moved back to sleepily pin me down against Mikey's shell once more. "Chill, Leo. You can sleep in for once."

I narrowed my eyes at him and huffed slightly, but didn't argue too hard. For having a full night's sleep, I was feeling surprisingly tired.

"Seriously. Donnie? What did you do?" Casey continued calling up from the bottom of the steps. "I need coffee, but I'm... I'm kinda afraid to turn it on now."

Donnie grunted and rolled over, halfway falling off the over-crowded futon. Even half awake as he was, he was still graceful as he unfolded and shifted to a sitting position, leaning back against Mikey's shell. He yawned widely, before sleepily reaching over to ruffle my hair. "I made a few improvements to the coffee machine last night." he explained groggily. "I suppose I should head down quick to explain how to work it now. April needs her coffee." He paused for a moment, trying to work a crick out of his neck. "As do I."

I studied him closely. Just how much sleep did he get last night? I knew he had trouble with insomnia sometimes. Perhaps I should've gotten up and checked on him. I was actually kind of surprised that I hadn't, but, then again, usually I didn't sleep as soundly as I did last night.

Raph groaned and then lifted his hand to let me up and gave a wide yawn of his own. "I suppose Mikey's going to have to head down as well, if any of us want breakfast."

Taking the hint, I sat up and turned to slid down Mikey's shell, to allow him to get up, but his arm snagged me, and he instead rolled onto his side to snuggle me against his plastron. "Don't wanna get up!" he complained with his eyes still closed, resting his chin on top of my hair. "It's Leo-Snuggling time."

"Mikey!" I complained, with a grin, only half serious, doing my best to wiggle out of his grasp. "It's late! I'm sure Sensei and Casey are wondering why we're all sleeping like this! They're going to think we're all getting sick or something."

"Ha, might I remind you, dearest big brother, that we are now on vacation time!" Mikey snickered, finally opening his eyes and tilting his head to nuzzle me fondly. "They probably just got up too! Get used to this, because this is the new normal."

"Psh, just because we're on vacation doesn't mean we don't have responsibilities!" I nuzzled him back, then turned to try and wiggle out of his grasp. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to try and get a shower in before Sensei uses up all the hot water again."

"Hey, I FIXED the water heater, remember!" Donnie huffed as he stumbled out through the door to get the necessary Black Liquid of Life going for everybody.

* * *

Later that morning, with a delicious breakfast put away, we all stood on the porch, admiring the countryside in front of us. Thankfully, though I was still feeling a little unexpectedly tired and worn out, I finally feeling fully awake as we discussed the plans for the day. My brothers were acting just a little odd and clingy, though they were trying to hide it. Even April seemed to notice, as I caught the tail end of Donnie and Raph discretely telling her that they would talk to her and Casey about something that happened later. And, for some reason, just before breakfast, just as I walked into the kitchen after my shower, I had been pulled into a tight family group hug initiated by Mikey, but quickly joined by all of my brothers, squished tightly between them. Just what had happened?!

Eh, not that I complained about it or anything.

But, anyways, there we were, for once, now just enjoying being outside in the sunlight together, with no fears of attack or discovery. I was beginning to see why my brothers loved coming here, even with some very unpleasant memories attached to the place. This farmhouse was a place to unwind, a safe haven where even mutant turtles could glimpse a taste of what could be considered to be a normal life. The adults, sans Mikey of course, as he had no need of caffeine, and Casey, as he had opted for a beer instead, each had a cup of coffee in hand, and were slowly sipping at the black brew as we watched the Cluckingsworth flock go about their morning routines, floating back and forth on hoverdisks created out of old tractor seats, wheel hubs, and whatever other appropriate scrap the clever chickens had managed to scrounge up.

"So Leo, any requests for activities to do this morning?" Donnie asked, obviously savoring his mug of coffee as he leaned on the porch railing. "Hiking, swimming, exploring?"

I leaned over the railing and studied the wide open field across the dirt road with a discerning eye. "Well... I did have an idea on something that we could do..."

April leaned against Donnie's shoulder and nodded, sipping at her own coffee. "Well, let's hear it, Leo."

I tilted my head, considering the field seriously. "I bet we could build a pretty effective training yard over there. You know, with a complete obstacle course and practice dummies and everything." I nodded thoughtfully, considering the idea and liking it more and more. "With all this room, and no worries about school, I can catch up on my training and become stronger in no time out here! I still have so much to learn and remember!"

I completely missed the looks my brothers threw each other behind my back.

And then...

 **WHAM!**

I gave a yelp of surprise as suddenly I was tackled from behind and suddenly sent tumbling head over heels over the railing, safely wrapped up in Mikey's arms so I wasn't actually hurt or anything as we rolled across the grass. The unexpected attack ended up with me laying the grass as Mikey tickled me playfully.

"M-Mikey! Heehee!" I gasped through laughter as I rolled about helplessly as I was tickled "Wh-what d-do you th-think you're d-doing?! Hahaha!

"I'm just keeping my word, Leo!" Mikey had an impish grin on his face as he jokingly nommed at my sneakers that were kicking in playful protest harmlessly against his snout. "I'm helping you!"

"How is... is this HELPING? This... this isn't t-training!" I protested through giggles. "Okay, that's it, you're going to get it now!" I managed to wiggle free, and quickly twisted about to launch myself at him, intent on revenge tickles.

He rolled back and sprang to his feet with a laugh out of my reach, eyes sparkling with mischievousness. "Ooh, too slow! You're going to have to catch me first, big brother!"

Oh, challenge accepted! I gave him a devious grin, ready to leap forward to give chase, when a throat cleared behind me.

Pausing, I turned back and looked upward to see Donnie and Raph standing right behind me.

"I believe this is where we come in." Donnie said with a twinkle in his eyes.

Raph knelt down next to me, a surprisingly playful smirk on his face as he nodded towards Mikey. "So, whatdya say? Ya think Captain Leo and his fearless crew of the Dauntless can work together to take down the dreaded Tickle Creature of Planet Zorg?"

I blinked in surprise, which quickly morphed into a wide grin as turned back towards Mikey, raising my hands to start tapping my fingers together evilly in front of me.

"Le Gasp!" Mikey looked mock horrified. "You have reinforcements?!"

"Oh my, my. How the tables have turned." I snickered smugly, Donnie and Raph taking up ready positions besides me.

"Meep!" Mikey gave yelp, and turned and fled as Raph scooped me up with a laugh, and all three of us gave chase.

* * *

April was on her second cup of coffee as she sat on one of the chairs under the shade of the porch. As well as Casey, several of the Cluckingsworth chickens had joined them, tilting their heads and watching in perplexed bemusement as the three giant ninja turtles and their tiny, eleven year old human brother laughed and chased each other around the yard.

"Heh. Did you ever think you'd ever see them so happy again?" Casey chuckled, also sitting back in a chair and obviously enjoying the show. "They're like four little kids again."

April smiled fondly, her eyes soft. "I think that this second chance we've somehow been given is more then just for Leo. I think it's for all of us."

Raph broke off and finally managed to tackle the laughing Mikey, but then, at that moment, when Leo was left open and vulnerable, oh, the humanity (or, er, would it be turtle-anity?)! Donnie gave an evil laugh that he had perfected well over the years, and declared that, betrayal!, he had actually been working for the Tickle Creature all along, and, with that, proceeded to tackle the squealing Leo before he could flee, tickling him mercilessly.

And April had to hide a squeal, because it was all just so cute! Leo's laughs were so adorable when they were like this! There was no sense of the troubles and burdens that always seemed to settle on his shoulders, even now in this life. They weren't even the patient chuckles and amused yet somehow still-adult laughs that he usually gave out. No, right now, these were just pure, happy, entirely childish giggles with just the hint of the occasional light snort mixed in, because of course Leo always had that streak of adorkableness deep down.

Casey had his phone out, and was filming the whole thing, probably finding just as cute as April did, but justifying it in his manly mind as future blackmail material. He looked thoughtful for a second, then set aside his beer can and leaned forward to set the camera on the railing in front of one of the Cluckingsworth chickens, positioning it so that it would continue facing the turtles and their human brother playing unaware in the yard. "Ladies, if you don't mind manning the camera for us?"

The chicken clucked in a manner they assumed was amiable.

That taken care of, he then turned to April. "Y'know, it's almost kind of a shame. "

April lowered her coffee mug and raised an eyebrow, beckoning him to continue.

"Well, I think the guys are always at their best when they're unified and workin' together as one, y'know. Like, towards a common goal." He cleared his throat, a boyishly innocent look on his scruffy face. "And, if you'll notice, right now they're mostly staying in the area that's underneath the window in the master bathroom. And I did bring that massive bulk box of extra large water balloons..."

April could see where this was going, and gasped. "Casey, that's despicable!" She set her coffee cup down and stood up, rubbing her hands together evilly. "Let's do this!"

* * *

 **A/N:** _Later in that trip, they went to the naming ceremony for the new Cluckingsworth chicks, which turns out to be Mikey scattering corn on a mat with the periodic table of elements, and then releasing the chicks. Whatever square they pick the corn off of was their new name. If anybody's curious, the newest clutch ended up named Yttrium, Rutherfordium the Second, Antimony, Poloium, Boron the Seventh, and Tin._

 _Oh, and that pond is where the infamous near-drowning situation that Leo described to Karai happened. On this very trip, in fact. And you'd better believe those windshields on all the vehicles that Donnie services are now beyond bulletproof. Those suckers are now made of basically what Triceraton warships use, and could weather an astroid blast if needed._


End file.
